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The Kintyre Way

The Kintyre Way was established in 2006 and runs for 161km along the length of the Kintyre peninsula, starting at the picturesque village of Tarbert in the north to Machrihanish in the south.

The route passes through a variety of landscapes, taking in tiny fishing villages, extensive conifer forests, beaches and stretches of fine coastline and open hills and moors. The narrow peninsula means that the sea is never far away, and the superb views take in many islands including the dramatic mountains of Jura and Arran, fertile Islay and Gigha, and even Rathlin Island and the Northern Irish mainland in the later stages. There is a ferry service from Tarbert at the northern end of the route that links with Portavadie, enabling a link with the Cowal Way for those who want to extend the walk further.

Stage descriptions Length Time Done
Stage 1: Tarbert to Skipness 15.25km 4-4½ hours
Stage 2: Skipness to Clachan 20km 4½-5 hours
Stage 3: Clachan to Tayinloan 15km 4-4½ hours
Stage 4: Tayinloan to Carradale 23.75km 5-6 hours
Stage 5: Carradale to Campbeltown 33.5km 8-10 hours
Stage 6: Campbeltown to Southend 25.25km 6-7 hours
Stage 7: Southend to Machrihanish 29km 8-10 hours

THE CHALLENGE

The Kintyre Way is well waymarked and provides fairly straightforward walking, albeit with some remote exposed stretches such as Claonaig to Clachan. The main exception to this is the final stage between Dunaverty and Machrihanish. This last part involves rugged hillwalking through a wild area, with steep ascents/descents, trickier navigation and some boggy conditions underfoot.

BAGGAGE TRANSFERS AND WALKING PACKAGES

Click to find organised Kintyre Way walking holiday packages and baggage transfer providers.

ROUTE PHOTO GALLERY

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ACCOMMODATION AND SERVICES ALONG THE WAY

The Kintyre peninsula is fairly remove but accommodation is available at the end of all of the stages listed above.

There are bed and breakfast establishments in Tarbert (many), at Crossaig (offering walkers a pick-up and drop off near Skipness), Clachan, Tayinloan, Carradale (several), Campbeltown (many), Southend, Amod Farm and Machrinahnish.

Hotels are available in Tarbert, Carradale, Campbeltown and Southend.

There are campsites at Carradale, Muasdale (off-route on the west coast), Machrihanish and Southend. It is possible to find a wildcamp spot by the shore between Skipness and Claonaig; please see the Outdoor Access website for information on responsible wild camping.

Finally, there are shops at Tarbert, a small store at the petrol station in Clachan, another small shop in Tayinloan, and also in Carradale and Southend. Campbeltown has a full range of supplies.

BOOKS AND MAPS

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

There are Citylink buses from Glasgow which serve both Tarbert and Campbeltown.

Once on the Kintyre peninsula, all the stage start/end points can be reached by public transport, though some connections are infrequent and should be checked in advance. Claonaig near Skipness has an infrequent bus to Tarbert. Clachan and Taylinloan are both stops on buses which link Campbeltown and Tarbert, whilst Carradale, Southend and Machrihanish all have a service to Campbeltown.

Timetables for all the routes can be found on Traveline Scotland.

Users' walk reports for the Kintyre Way

There are 178 Walkhighlanders who have completed the Kintyre Way. To record if you have completed the route, you must register and be logged in. Our users have contributed 12 public walk reports for the route. These are ordered below with the most popular ones first.

Title AuthorDate walked Likes
kintyre way - camping options  petert847 03/05/2013  13
Kintyre Way / Winter Tarping / 8 Days Self-Supported  sam g guthrie 01/01/2023  10
Kintyre Way July 2023  Rupert180 04/07/2023  7
Great walk ,a couple of observations  phamnett 12/09/2015  7
TimelapseVideo  CaptnSauerkraut 14/09/2016  7
The Kintyre Way  LDPWalker 10/09/2011  6
Kintyre Way in 7 days from one base  Hoybeuy 05/09/2023  5
The Kintyre Way, a 6 year journey 2007-2013  dgcampbell 28/08/2013  4
A Slow but Wild Kintyre Way Experience  Jo Larkin 02/09/2021  3
Kintyre Way  zhickman 29/09/2011  3
Kintyre Way  Billymaca 21/06/2010  3
7days walking from one base  lettyf 12/06/2023  1

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Walking can be dangerous and all walkers must take personal responsibility for their own safety. You should always carry a backup means of navigation and not rely on a single phone, app or map. Walkhighlands strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.