Is Kintyre's 'Route 66' the next road to recovery?

Kintyre 66 is Scotland's newest tourist route. Local businesses hope the scenic drive around the peninsula will help with Argyll's recovery from the Covid pandemic.

Campbeltown is less than 60 miles west of Glasgow as the crow flies but the drive over the hills and around the lochs of Argyll makes the journey more than twice that distance, taking at least three hours.

Johnny Beveridge and his wife Mandy have run the Dunlossit House B&B in Machrihanish, near Campbeltown, since 2017.

They took it over when Johnny retired to his childhood home on the west of Scotland peninsula after almost 35 years in the international hospitality industry.

The business was doing well - but then everything came to "an abrupt halt" with the lockdown in March 2020.

"We spent six weeks handling cancellations," says Johnny.

"Even after last year's lockdown finished, business was a bit stop and go."

Since the end of April this year, the B&B has seen the return of a few guests and Johnny hopes more will follow once word of Kintyre 66 spreads.

K66 - as it is known for short - follows a 66-mile (106km) main loop around the Kintyre peninsula on the A83 and B842 roads.

But the initiative also includes roads branching off the main loop which give visitors access to other parts of Kintyre such as Machrihanish. The project also extends to islands off the coast of the peninsula.

Johnny describes it as a "mini, compact" version of the North Coast 500 - which quickly became a popular tourist route around the north of Scotland after its launch five years ago.

The Explore Kintyre and Gigha Tourism and Marketing Group had hoped to launch K66 in 2020, but it was delayed until this year by the pandemic.

Its name plays on the name of America's famous Route 66, one of the original routes in the US highway system.

One of the spur routes goes close to the Mull of Kintyre area - made famous in the 1970s by the number one hit by Paul McCartney and Wings.

The main route offers visitors the chance to visit places like Kennacraig, Campbeltown and Claonaig.

It also offers views of the Hebridean islands of Gigha, Islay and Jura to the west, and the Kilbrannan Sound and the Isle of Arran to the east.

The peninsula also has ferry links to the islands of Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Gigha and Arran, which K66 travellers are also being encouraged to visit.

"Kintyre offers so much variety," says Johnny.

"There is the fantastic scenery, and people come to Kintyre to walk, golf, fish, surf, explore or just to relax."

He hopes that hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, shops, distillers and local food producers will all benefit from the new route.

Zofija Sloan has lived in Kintyre for 28 years. Since 2015 she has run Glenbarr Stores, post office, coffee shop and garden centre in Glenbarr.

"I think for everyone the pandemic has been a bit like a rollercoaster," she said.

"There have been highs and lows and there has been the not knowing of what is round the corner."

Zofija has sought to adapt her business by branching out into deliveries of high teas, and supporting other initiatives.

The coffee shop is a venue for Argyll Artmap, a social enterprise helping to promote the work of local professional and aspiring artists.

"I think collaboration is important, especially just now," said Zofija.

"We are fortunate to be right on the Kintyre 66 route. Footfall has been good already, and we expect over the season we will see more customers."

Zofija said thought was given in the planning of K66 to facilities, including all-important comfort breaks.

West Kintyre Community Council, which she is a member of, provides funding for public toilets at the ferry terminal for Gigha and also portable loos at Westport beach, a destination popular with surfers and other visitors.

Explore Kintyre and Gigha Tourism and Marketing Group chairman Niall Macalister Hall said K66 had been developed to encourage visitors to explore the whole of Kintyre - "slowly and at their leisure".

He said: "After a long and stressful 12-months for everyone, it's a good feeling to be able to launch the route, and we look forward to welcoming travellers to our friendly community in the months to come."

Scotland's other tourist routes include: