Saddell Bay sits some ten miles north of Campbeltown in Kintyre. We first came to Saddell in 1975, three years before a youthful Paul McCartney and Wings performed ‘Mull of Kintyre’ on its shoreline. Approached through steep woodlands, the bay offers stunning views across the Kilbrannan Sound towards the Isle of Arran. Nurturing the estate over several decades, today we look after six Landmarks together with a bothy and coach house, plus the woodlands and shoreline.
Landmark’s surveyor for Scotland Zac Manning has recently overseen a number of maintenance projects dotted across the site, each project incrementally improving both our operation of the estate and the holiday experience.
Making an entrance
We have widened the metal entrance gates to improve access, taking the opportunity to repair and modify the ironmongery. As guests approach the estate, the left-hand side gate leaf remains suitable for pedestrian access, so facilitating continued unrestricted public access. However now the right-hand side gate leaf has been widened and a simple drop bolt and combination lock added, aiding easier service vehicle access.
Fabric repairs across the wider site
The Coach House, today becoming a store and services hub for the Estate, has been repaired externally. A new door has been introduced, while an overhaul of the roof included joinery and masonry repairs undertaken by teams from Campbeltown including Calum McKinven Building Contractor, stone mason Graham Powell and decorators BR Wilkinson & Sons.
Saddell is a haven for many species birds and other wildlife and David Dodds Associates helped manage our ecological responsibilities, including a bat licence, monitoring and the implementing of compensation and mitigation measures for these works.
New timber gates have also been introduced, designed by our senior regional surveyor Linda Lockett. The design carefully replicated the historic fabric and was manufactured plus installed by Houghtons of York, who have previously worked on Cul na Shee. We also worked with Ewan Stewart of Bowman Stewart to investigate and specify replacement masonry pintels.
Bothy life
A bothy, Port na Gael, is available for use by all staying Landmarkers.
We have undertaken joinery repairs and re-slated the roof, introducing new vents in the process. External fabric repairs have also taken place thanks to Calum McKinven Building Contractors and stone mason Graham Powell, with decoration by B.R. Wilkinson & Sons Decorators from Campbeltown. Inside, David McCormick - an experienced and considerate joiner also from Campbeltown - has undertaken further joinery work. We have installed a new wood-burning stove and replaced a modern roll top ceramic chimney pot with a second hand, reclaimed decorative pot thanks to Robert Millar of Kintyre Stoves.
Experience Saddell Bay