The Campbeltown Backpackers is housed in the Old Schoolhouse, a Grade B listed building. Offering easy access to the facilities of Campbeltown including swimming pool, gym, the Wee Toon cinema (oldest in the country) and Springbank, Kilkerran and Glen Scotia distillery tours, it is a good stop along the Kintyre Way which gives walkers spectacular views of the surrounding islands. The area also enjoys very good wind surfing, surfing, mountain bike routes and other major cycle trails.
Kintyre is full of cultural and historical interest being the place where St Columba came ashore from Northern Ireland bringing Christianity to Scotland. Robert the Bruce spent time in Kintyre on his way to Rathlin, whilst the beach at Saddell was the location for Paul McCartney and Wings' video for the song Mull of Kintyre. For wildlife lovers the Kintyre Peninsula is a great place to see otters, seals and even golden eagles as well as red, roe and sika deer.
By email, only phone if you require a booking within 4 days
Directions:
Adjacent to the Heritage Centre on the B842 towards Machrihanish. 10 minute walk from the bus.
Public Transport :
5 buses a day from Glasgow (926). Passenger and cycle ferry links to Northern Ireland and Troon. The islands of Gigha, Islay, Jura and Arran are all served by ferries. Two flights per week day to and from Glasgow International Airport
Campbeltown Backpackers is closed for the time being
July 31st 2020
We will re-open when there is a relaxation in the social distancing rules.
Latest News
Campbeltown Backpackers
March 1st 2019
You might know it for whisky and golf but…
Photo credit is David Hawgood.
Campbeltown Backpacker’s Hostel is right in the heart of the town, handy and convenient for all the facilities, including the celebrated and historic Art Nouveau cinema. The town itself is on the eats coast of Kintyre, that promontory of Western Scotland that, on a map, seems to droop down and round the Isle of Arran. Of course that description doesn’t do it justice at all, as Kintyre is widely reckoned to be one of the most beautiful places in Britain. And not just by that fellow from Wings.
Taking in coastal seascapes with views to the Islands; high mountain climbs and lowland rambles, the landscape here has stunning variety. If you’re out in it, look out for otters and seals in the wet; the potential for golden eagles flying overhead; and deer all over the hills. If you wander over the shingle causeway to Davaar you can commune with the colony of wild goats there.
The Hostel is a charmingly converted listed schoolhouse with bright, modern welcoming interiors. It has 16 beds in 2 rooms sharing communal kitchen, lounge and washing facilities – both for you and your clothes. Additionally there’s a secure cycle lock up if you’re touring on your bikes.
The town has amazing ferry links and. in fact, from here you could hop on a ferry and take your bike to Northern Ireland or Troon on the Ayrshire Coast or out to the islands of Gigha, Islay, Jura or Arran.
There, and I haven’t mentioned whisky or golf once.
We make it to the ferry port just as the ferry is docking, we cycle onto it, lock up the bikes, and head into the passenger cabin to eat lunch! We were on the ferry from the tip of the Kintyre Peninsula to Lochranza on Arran. After 30 minutes of eating, we cycle onto Arran for the next stage of the journey with our tanks refueled.