Campbeltown

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Campbeltown (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx or Template:Lang) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.

The 2018 population estimate was 4,600, indicating a reduction since the 2011 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Originally known as Kinlochkilkerran (an anglicisation of the Gaelic, which means 'head of the loch by the kirk of Ciarán'), Campbeltown was renamed in the 17th century as Campbell's Town after Archibald Campbell (Earl of Argyll) was granted the site in 1667.<ref>"Campbeltown" in A Dictionary of British Place-Names, A. D. Mills, Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Hull. 12 December 2009</ref> Campbeltown Town Hall was completed in 1760.<ref>Template:Historic Environment Scotland</ref>

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened Campbeltown Lifeboat Station in 1861. The present building dates from 1996.<ref name="history">Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

Main street, with Campbeltown Town Hall visible

In addition to the benefits of distilling, and whisky tourism, there were two major employers in 2018, Campbeltown Creamery and CS Wind UK, who provided "a substantial portion of the Campbeltown area’s high skilled jobs and are a vital part of the local economy," according to the Scottish government. A report in October 2019 had raised warning signs for the economy of Argyll & Bute; the report also suggested that up to 70 jobs at CS Wind UK could be lost but did not specify a timeframe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Both companies confirmed the prediction of job redundancies, leading the Scottish government to hold an emergency summit in November 2019 to discuss steps that might be taken for improving the local economy. Participants included Argyll & Bute Council, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, trades unions and local employers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="The Times">Template:Cite news</ref> After the summit, a "working group" was formed in late November 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The number of dairy farms supplying Campbeltown Creamery reduced from 147 to 28 and the number of dairy cows fell from 6600 to 2500. Consequently, the Creamery became unviable. A plan by a small number of local dairy farmers to take over the running of the Creamery failed in early December 2019. The milk produced in Kintyre is now transported by road tankers to Lockerbie and Mull of Kintyre Cheddar is no longer available.<ref name="The Times"/>

By early December 2019, CS Wind UK had declared 22 jobs redundant. The Scottish government was working with the company to search for long-term solutions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Preliminary discussions did not produce optimism about the future stability of the company. The Unite union indicated that while CS Wind had been profitable, it was not receiving an adequate number of orders to sustain full employment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The plant was shut down in 2019 and production shifted to CS Wind's cheaper Vietnam plant in Phú Mỹ.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Whisky

Campbeltown is one of five areas in Scotland categorised as a distinct malt whisky producing region, and is home to the Campbeltown single malts. At one point it had over 30 distilleries and proclaimed itself "the whisky capital of the world". However, a focus on quantity rather than quality, and the combination of Prohibition and the Great Depression in the United States, led to most distilleries going out of business. Today only three active distilleries remain in Campbeltown: Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Campbeltown is a "protected locality" for Scotch Whisky distilling under the UK's Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The folk song titled "Campbeltown Loch, I wish you were whisky" is based on the town's history in this industry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

As with the rest of Scotland, Campbeltown experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which online records are available is at Campbeltown Airport/RAF Machrihanish, about Template:Convert west of the town centre.

The lowest temperature to be reported in recent years was Template:Convert during December 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Culture

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The old Library and Museum
The Royal Hotel

Campbeltown boasts a museum and a heritage centre. The museum has a varied collection of items from Campbeltown's past, and prehistoric items excavated from sites around Kintyre, such as axeheads, jewellery and combs. The 19th-century building, by John James Burnet, also houses the Registrars office and Customer Service Point for Argyll and Bute council and has plaques or exhibits related to famous Kintyre people: for example, William McTaggart and William Mackinnon.<ref>Template:Historic Environment Scotland</ref> Near the museum is the cinema known as the Wee Picture House, a small but distinctive Art Nouveau building of the Glasgow School dating from 1913 and believed to be the oldest surviving purpose-built cinema in Scotland.<ref>Template:Historic Environment Scotland</ref> These buildings are on the waterfront, as is a 14th-century Celtic cross that also served as a mercat cross.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

St Kieran (Ciarán of Clonmacnoise) lived in this area before the town existed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A cave named after him can be visited at low tide, as can the cave on nearby Island Davaar where pilgrims and tourists go to see a 19th-century crucifixion painting.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Campbeltown also hosts the annual Mull of Kintyre Music Festival, which has seen acts ranging from up-and-coming local bands to well-established groups such as Deacon Blue, The Stranglers and Idlewild perform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Kintyre Songwriters Festival, a fairly low-key annual gathering aimed at promoting the wealth and variety of original music across the area, which started in 2009. The festival is held during the last weekend of May and is open to anyone interested in performing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On Friday 16 June 2006, First Minister Jack McConnell flew to Campbeltown to officially open Campbeltown's new 'Aqualibrium' Centre. Aqualibrium, designed by Page\Park Architects, replaced the old Campbeltown swimming pool, which was previously closed due to safety concerns; the centre houses Campbeltown's library (with the old building being the museum only), swimming pool, gym, conference centre and 'Mussel Ebb' Cafe.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Kintyre Camanachd are a local shinty team that belongs to the Camanachd Association.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The local amateur football team, Campbeltown Pupils AFC, are members of the West of Scotland Football League Division 4 which largely comprises clubs based in the Greater Glasgow and Inverclyde areas, requiring the Campbeltown team to make a round trip of over Template:Convert for away fixtures most weekends.<ref>Join Campbeltown Pupils AFC as they make a 260 mile trip just for a game of football, A View from the Terrace (BBC Scotland), 28 February 2020</ref>

Argyll FM is a local radio station based in Campbeltown on 106.5, 107.1 and 107.7.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2012 Campbeltown and Dunoon were jointly named in a report by the Scottish Agricultural College as the rural places in Scotland most vulnerable to a downturn. The "vulnerability index" ranked 90 Scottish locations according to factors associated with economic and social change.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Politics

Campbeltown is part of the Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber constituency for elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Infrastructure

Telecommunications

The West Highland Telegraph was extended to Campbeltown in 1865 when the Universal Private Telegraph Company opened a telegraph office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The first telephone exchange was opened by the National Telephone Company in the early 1900s. It was modernised in 1939 with the introduction of direct dialling<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and went digital in 1991 following the upgrade of the Lochgilphead exchange.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Electricity

Reduction in tariffs from the Campbeltown Courier Saturday 27 June 1936

Electricity for domestic consumption arrived on 17 October 1935 when the Campbeltown and Mid Argyll Electric Power Company’s new power station in Glebe Street was inaugurated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The power station was built in the former premises of the Co-operative Society’s laundry. Two 150 h.p. oil fired engines drove the generators built by Ruston and Honsby.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The street lighting in the town was converted from gas to electricity in 1936.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Transport

Campbeltown Ferry Terminal
Campbeltown Airport terminal building

Campbeltown Airport is near the town, and has a scheduled service to/from Glasgow International Airport on weekdays and some summer Sundays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The town is the westernmost town in the island of Great Britain (if the port of Mallaig is not counted as a town). It has the population of a large village, but lays claim to its town status based on its port and its central close grid of streets. Its position near the end of a long peninsula makes for a time-consuming road journey, and to some extent the area relies on sea and air transport, like the Inner Hebrides. However it is linked to the rest of Scotland by the A83 (to Tarbet) and A82 (from Tarbet to Glasgow). Bus service is provided by West Coast Motors, who also operate services to Glasgow for Scottish Citylink.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ferries sail from Campbeltown to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland, operated by Kintyre Express. The service, which runs to Ballycastle every Friday to Monday during summer months and on Mondays and Fridays during the winter months, commenced in 2011.<ref name="express"/>

In 2006 a foot passenger ferry operated by Kintyre Express ran between Campbeltown and Troon every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a crossing time of one hour in calm weather. By 2007 this ferry no longer ran, although the vessel can be chartered privately.<ref name="express">Template:Cite web</ref>

Starting 23 May 2013, Caledonian MacBrayne began operating a ferry service across the Firth of Clyde to Ardrossan, calling at Brodick on Saturdays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Campbeltown was linked to Machrihanish by a canal (1794 – mid-1880s) that was superseded by the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway, which closed in 1932. The railway, which was originally built to serve the Machrihanish Coalfield, ran from Campbeltown railway station to Machrihanish railway station.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:S-rail-start Template:S-rail Template:Rail line one to two Template:Rail line

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Language

Campbeltown is one of the few communities in the Scottish Highlands where the Scots language predominated in recent centuries, rather than the previously widespread Scottish Gaelic, an enclave of Lowland Scots speech surrounded by Highland Scottish speech.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

Main Street and Campbeltown Cross
Campbeltown harbour

Town twinnings

Campbeltown is twinned with Kümmersbruck, Bavaria, Germany.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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See also

References

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