When most people visit Scotland, they often head to popular destinations Like the Isle of Skye and the Scottish Highlands Yet there's so much more of Scotland to explore beyond those well-trodden paths Along Scotland's rugged west coast, a beautiful long peninsula awaits exploration A place once home to the world's whisky capital Located just 60 miles from Glasgow as the crow flies But so remote that it requires over a three-hour drive The Kintyre Peninsula is at times referred to as Scotland's mainland island Join me as I explore Scotland's Kintyre Peninsula in my campervan Ernie I've just arrived back on the Scotland mainland after spending some time on the islands of Islay and Dura And in today's video, I'm going to be exploring the Mull of Kintyre Which is a remote peninsula on the west coast of Scotland I started my drive along the single-track road I'm very used to driving on single-track roads now But on this road, I really had to put my maneuvering skills into practice My first stop today is the Skipness Seafood Cabin Seafood is really popular on the west coast of Scotland And apparently, they do amazing seafood platters here So I'm really keen to try one There's amazing views over to Arran And also there's a lovely castle here as well The Skipness Seafood Cabin is serving fresh and locally caught seafood in a stunning location And has been in operation since 1980 The seafood platter arrived and it has smoked salmon, which I believe is this one Salmon gravlax, which is cured salmon We have hot smoked salmon, crab meat, langoustine, oyster, mussels And the bread was £1. 50 extra And here we have all the different sauces This was £21, and the bread was £1. 50 extra So you'll find the salmon all over Scotland It's a traditional dish from Scotland and it's so good If you come to Scotland, you must try it I really enjoyed my lunch at the Skipness Seafood Cabin If you're in this area, I highly recommend it You can get amazing views over to Arran And, I just wish I could have had a glass of white wine That would have topped it off But I'm driving anyway, so it wouldn't have been possible It was so nice to try all the different seafood And especially on the west coast of Scotland, there is such a huge fishing industry So it's really nice to try all the food from this area On Google Maps, I saw a pin for something called Arran Viewpoint Arran is an island between the Mull of Kintyre and Ayrshire in mainland Scotland on the other side Some of you commented that it's a really great place for bringing your camper van So I'd love to go over there at some point and explore with Ernie There is Arran in the distance It's actually not that far I passed the ferry after the Skipness Seafood Cabin I think it takes around 20-30 minutes to get over on the ferry I headed towards Saddell Beach next You might be familiar with Paul McCartney, the well-known English singer from The Beatles In 1966, he purchased a farm on the Mull of Kintyre Which is a headland on the Kintyre Peninsula McCartney was so taken by the area that he composed a song in tribute to it Saddell Beach was the location for the music video for this song This is actually the second beach I've tried to access It's down here, but they're on estates So some of you might be wondering, "What is an estate?" In Scotland, you'll find many properties that are called estates And usually there's a large house with a lot of land And these are found all over Scotland And on this occasion, the access to the beach is... The beach is basically accessed through the estate So they can control the vehicles that are going on and off of the property Since I had many van chores to do in Campbeltown I didn't head down to Saddell Beach this time It's been about three weeks, I think, since I set off on my trip And it's been about two weeks since I've been to a proper big supermarket I'm very, very excited to be able to go to Tesco And get all my groceries that I need Just all the basics that I haven't been able to find I have been able to find them, but they're really expensive in the shops that I've gone to Campbeltown is the biggest town on the Kintyre Peninsula And is a great base for exploring the area Home to around 5,000 people, it used to be the whisky capital of the world Due to its once-thriving whisky industry with 34 distilleries These days, there are only three active distilleries remaining Campbeltown Cinema opened in 1918 and was one of the first purpose-built cinemas in Scotland It is the only remaining example of an atmospheric theatre in Scotland The town is located on a deep bay sheltered by Davaar Island And has stunning coastal views Despite a decline in industry, it's a lovely destination for history, whiskey and nature fans Being on remote islands for the last few weeks, it was amazing to visit Campbeltown and have a taste of convenience again I stocked up my van kitchen Okay, so this is all the shopping I got There's not that many fresh things I'm going to pick up fresh things as and when I need them These are sort of the staple items Like oats, bread, condiments I've found these things quite interesting recently These are basically like instant noodles These are like £89 to buy But they're quite good for a quick lunch or dinner Also, these are traditional from Scotland These are oat cakes So they're like crackers that you'd have under cheese But they're made from oats You'll find these all over Scotland And of course, my favorite Potato scones Best food in Scotland So the price of all these items was around £35 If you have a club card, you get a small discount It would have been £39 without the club card Let me know in the comments what you think about the price of the shopping compared to where you live I honestly feel like the groceries in the UK are definitely more expensive compared to the last time I spent a considerable amount of time here, which was in 2018 But yeah, interested to know your thoughts on the price of groceries in the UK at the moment And how they compare to where you live I next headed to the laundrette to wash my clothes A small wash is £4 and a big wash is £5 Dryers are £2 for 20 minutes It's the first time I've been to a laundrette in Scotland It's quite funny Because I've always just used the washing machine in the house So, to do a small wash, it's £4 And a large wash is £5 And they don't have a coin-changing machine in the laundrette So I'm going to go now to the leisure center And I'm going to have a shower I will take you there with me as well and show you what that's like The showers in the gym area are available to use for £2. 50 And if you like loud 80s music You'll have a great time singing and dancing along in the shower So I've had my swim at the Campbeltown Leisure Centre I said I just wanted to have a shower It was only £2. 50 which is great If you go in for a swim there, it's £7
And that includes the sauna and the steam room as well I got lots of pound coins for my change from my £10 note And I've used those for the dryer in the laundry This laundry is so busy There are so many people here using the laundry All the dryers were full and I had to wait to use the dryer It seems extremely popular with all the locals living here There's no other vans, so it's all people living around here that are using the laundry I'm just having my coffee before I head off and explore more of the mill of Kintyre I stayed in this lovely spot last night The views are so nice I was just driving along and found another cake box So there's lots of nice things here Milkyway tiffin Rocky Roads Blondies Brownies More brownies And, this Biscoff crispy I've gone for a Milky Way Tiffin Oh, excited to have this with my coffee this morning So I've made it down to the South end Which is at the bottom of the Mull of Kintyre I've got my lukewarm coffee left over from earlier And my Milkyway tiffin which I bought at the bake box It's nice to see more of those cake honesty boxes The first time I saw one was in Shetland But there's obviously cake boxes in other places So I'm going to be looking out for them as I travel more in Scotland Let's try this Milkyway tiffin Wow, excellent That is yummy One thing I've noticed on the Mull of Kintyre is that it feels to me more like an island rather than a peninsula I think just because it's so remote I spent some time on Islay and Jura And when I came back onto the mainland I went to Tesco in Campbeltown And it made me really appreciate a big supermarket Because I hadn't had access to a big supermarket And the convenience of that for a few weeks And it's made me realize how different the life is in these more remote areas of Scotland And maybe it's sounds a little bit stupid But I never realized how different that life was Like how remote and rural it really was in other parts of Scotland Where I'm from in the south of Scotland I realize is very well-connected and very convenient There's lots of supermarkets where I live, lots of different choices of supermarkets It's just quite different here and I never realised And you know, south Scotland is just over there I can see it across the water That's the Ayrshire coast and Dumfries and Galloway that I can see in the distance there And of course, Ailsa Craig, my favorite island in Scotland, although I've never been It's such a special place I spent two summers working on the Ayrshire coast, there's nice memories from that time The wind up here is insane Directly behind me, we can see Ailsa Craig And then that's mainland Scotland I was reading a few reviews for this area People say they see otters and seals around here Still haven't seen an otter! Maybe today I explored more of Southend and went looking for St Columba's footprints According to local legend, these footprints were left by St Columba An important Irish missionary who arrived on the Kintyre Peninsula over a thousand years ago I couldn't find the footprints but I enjoyed the scenery nonetheless I had to get out of the car The views here are insane It's so beautiful I made my way towards the Mull of Kintyre A rugged and scenic part of the peninsula known for its stunning natural beauty and dramatic coastline One of the notable landmarks on the Mull of Kintyre is the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse The road leading to the lighthouse is both exhilarating and a bit challenging due to the narrow and winding single-track roads But the stunning views make it worth the effort Finally arrived here at the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse Well, not yet I've parked up and then I'm walking down to the lighthouse It's so cold and windy It feels like the end of the world here There's some baby deer in the distance The eyes on me Oh there's three of them I don't know if you can see them They're over there There They didn't run away I must be friendly Hey guys! I think they've got good hearing They heard me say, "Hey guys" They looked up During my walk toward the lighthouse, I took a slight diversion On June 2nd, 1994, a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter crashed on the fog-covered Mull of Kintyre This tragic incident claimed the lives of the entire 25 passengers and four crew members on board Among the passengers were nearly all of the Kingdom's leading experts in Northern Ireland intelligence This event stands as the RAF's fourth most devastating peacetime catastrophe The Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse was built back in 1788 to help ships stay safe while sailing near Scotland and Northern Ireland From the lighthouse, there are amazing views over to Northern Ireland and Rathlin Island I made it to the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse It is so windy up here I don't think I've ever been in such a windy place before It was around a 30-minute walk to come down Quite a bit further than I expected But there's a car here and it looks like someone's living here I'm not sure do people still live in lighthouses, or maybe it's been converted into a house I'm not going to go too close Because it does look like it's someone's property I made it back up to the van at the top of the hill So as I mentioned, it's around a 30-minute walk each way It's quite steep So it's a bit of a walk if you plan to do it And as I was starting to walk back up The car that was in the lighthouse started driving past me And I asked for a lift So the person gave me a lift up to the top of the hill, which was really nice The person doesn't actually live there They're just staying there at the moment to help with the road construction It was great to learn more about lighthouses He's worked in lighthouses all over Scotland and all little small islands Some of them are only accessible by helicopter or boat This one's accessible by road He said he believes this was the second last lighthouse which was operated by a man before they all turned automated and electronic So it was really interesting to hear how they're all powered by different batteries or diesel generators He was telling me also what it's like inside There's a bathroom and there's a TV Yeah, really interesting actually That was a good experience to go down to the lighthouse I'm here in a village called Macrihanisch on the Mull of Kintyre This is one of the most famous beaches here on the Mull of Kintyre And apparently, it's very famous for surfing, Although there's no one in surfing today There's also a famous golf club here Apparently, the first hole is one of the best first golf holes in the entire world The village really reminds me of a place in Ayrshire called Troon With all the very grand houses on the seafront Looks quite similar Just leaving this cute little town If you're a golf fan, I think this is a great place to come The golf course looks really interesting right beside the sea And actually, that's the Atlantic Ocean just there And you can get fantastic views over to Islay and Jura in the distance I wrapped up my time on the Kintyre Peninsula by checking out the quaint harbor town of Tarbert And exploring the Crinan Canal Which was built in 1808 and made boat travel much easier Avoiding the long and dangerous trip around the Mull of Kintyre I've had an amazing few days exploring the Kintyre Peninsula A place I've always wanted to visit Even though it doesn't have the same popularity as places such as the Scottish Highlands I personally love discovering these lesser-known parts of Scotland I visited during the peak summer And it felt like I had the whole area to myself You should definitely consider visiting this beautiful part of Scotland too Stay tuned for my next video Where I'll be heading to the beautiful Isle of Gigha A small Scottish island which was bought over by the community in 2002 I often share photos from my trips on Instagram, so feel free to have a look Thank you for watching this video And if you'd like to see more of my adventures exploring Scotland Please subscribe to the channel See you next time!
