There’s a seaside UK town so picturesque that it’s been immortalised in a classic number one single. Better yet, average house prices in the area are in the region of £100k. There is, however, one problem with Campbeltown that takes a little bit of getting used to.
Campbeltown, which sits at the southern tip of Scotland’s Kintyre Peninsula, hit the headlines this week when it was named the cheapest coastal region to buy a property in the whole of the UK.
The peninsula became famous due to Beatles star Paul McCartney, who has owned High Park Farm since 1966. Paul wrote the song Mull of Kintyre in the 1970s and took it to the top of the charts in 1977, making it the first single to sell over two million copies nationwide.
Paul’s hit was already 30 years old when Millie West was born in the town. Millie, 19, has lived in the town almost all her life and loves it, but admits there is a bit of an issue with the weather.
She told the Daily Mail that it rains a lot in the area, but “you get used to it” quite quickly.
At this time of year, the average monthly amount of rain tends to be around 60 mm, or two inches. In July, that goes up to more like three inches, and it will maintain that level of rainfall throughout the summer.
In the winter months, locals can expect to get a lot of use out of their wellingtons, with a whopping five inches of rain through October, November and December.
The other challenge facing residents in the area is a general shortage of job opportunities.
Millie currently works in a second hand store and relies on local donations, but hopes to leave – at least temporarily – to further her education: “Eventually, hopefully, I’ll go off to college or something because I’ve not done that yet,” she said.
A 2018 report listed two major employers in Campbeltown; 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.
Late the following year, CS Wind UK had declared 22 jobs redundant.
There is, of course, a healthy industry around the whisky trade, with three distilleries; Glen Scotia, Glengyle, and Springbank.
The town has two primary schools, a high school, a police station, Post Office, health centre, leisure centre, churches, cafes and a vets. Millie says that the local nightlife is “decent” for young people in the area, with a few pubs and a DJ night on Saturdays.
Right now, you can get yourself on the property ladder with a one-bedroom flat for a very reasonable £60k.
There’s even an airport. Campbeltown Airport, whisks up to 17 passengers to Glasgow twice a day, with an average journey time of of around 45 minutes.
