Machrihanish ( gd, Machaire Shanais, ) is a village in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, on the west coast of Scotland. It is a short distance north of the tip of the

Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...

, which faces out towards Northern Ireland and the Atlantic.

Machrihanish bay

The main sandy beach of Machrihanish Bay runs north to Westport, providing opportunities for surfing. Basic accommodation is available for surfing groups in the Machrihanish village hall. There are static caravans, wooden wigwams and camping spaces at the Machrihanish Holiday Park. The village is one of the start/finish points of the Kintyre Way, one of Scotland's Great Trails. The Scottish Wildlife Trust's Largiebaan nature reserve lies to the south, about along the Kintyre Way.

Features

Campbeltown Airport Campbeltown Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Cheann Loch Chille Chiarain) is located at Machrihanish, west of Campbeltown, near the tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland. The airport was formerly known as R ...

, formerly RAF Machrihanish, is located near the village. Although still available to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, the former airfield has been taken over by the specially-formed Machrihanish Airbase Community Company.

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

was mined near the village; the Machrihanish Coalfield was one of Britain's smallest

coalfield A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological. A coalfield often groups the seams of ...

s. A canal to Campbeltown was constructed between 1773 and 1794, later replaced by the narrow-gauge Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway. Machrihanish railway station opened in 1906 and finally closed in 1932. Machrihanish has a classic links golf course designed by

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died ...

, with views towards the islands of Gigha,

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital ...

and Jura. A second, newer course has been built nearby called Machrihanish Dunes. This course is part of a multimillion-pound development by an American company, which has renovated the previously-dilapidated Ugadale Hotel in the village and owns the Royal Hotel on the sea front in nearby

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) 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 ...

. Weather data is collected from Machrihanish and broadcast in the

Shipping Forecast The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. ...

Notable people

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden built a radio transmitting station with a high

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

there in 1905 to transmit

Wireless Telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

to a similar station at

Brant Rock Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, composed of the neighborhoods of Ocean Bluff, Brant Rock, Fieldston, and Rexhame in the town of Marshfield. The population of the CD ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, United States. An exchange of messages took place on 1 January 1906 but the mast blew down in a gale on 5 December 1906 and was never rebuilt. Cadets from the Air Training Corps recreated this historic trans-atlantic transmission in Easter of 2006. Edinburgh and South Scotland Wing, who were on camp at the nearby airfield, contacted the Civil Air Patrol cadets in Brant Rock on 14 April 2006. The views and skies seen from the beach and Lossit Point to the west were a subject for the Scottish marine and landscape painter

William McTaggart William McTaggart (25 October 1835 – 2 April 1910) was a Scottish landscape and marine painter who was influenced by Impressionism. Life and work The son of a crofter, William McTaggart was born in the small village of Aros, near Campb ...

, who had a house in the village.

References

External links

Machrihanish website
* Villages in Kintyre Mining communities in Scotland Surfing locations in Scotland {{Argyll-geo-stub