After Saddell abbey it is a short walk to Saddellbeach where famous songs and a sculpture await us.
Famous songs and sculptures in Saddell Bay
Saddell is a minuscule hamlet on the eastern side of the Kintyre Peninsula. From here it is about eight miles on the long and windy B842 to the peninsula’s only town, Campbeltown. The town is for later. We are now on our way, walking from Saddel Abbey to Saddell bay and beach.
How to get to Saddel Bay
Walk away from Saddell Abbey. Cross the road with the hump back bridge.Walk down the wooded lane, past Saddell castle and you will have reached Saddell Bay. The bay forms part of Kilbrannan Sound, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.
Our visit to this beach brings along memories of famous songs and a meeting with a famous sculpture at unknown Saddell Bay. The song could not be more apt to type of weather we are experiencing.
Before we are at the beach proper there is a castle to be admired. It looks somewhat like a large house but really is a proper castle.
Saddell castle
Saddell castle on a misty morning
Saddel castle itself is almost on the beach. It looks stunning in good weather photographs as well as in this misty weather. The East Kintyre website shows images with blue skies. But I must say, I quite like the hazy atmosphere of today as well.
It can even be booked for a holiday. A holiday with the family here has been on my bucket list ever since. Since we visited in 2018 the colour has changed, and presumably there have been other upgrades as well. The landmark trust describes it as follows:
A fayre pyle and a stronge
The Castle stands right on the beach, with fine views of Arran and Kintyre from every window on its four floors. Best of all is the view from the battlemented wall-walk around its roof. In 1508 the Bishop of Argyll (clergymen were more martial back then) chose Saddell Bay for his new castle. Planted boldly near the shore at the mouth of a small river, it was described as ‘a fayre pyle, and a stronge’. By 1600 it was firmly in the hands of the Campbells, who then held it for nearly 400 years. Saddell Castle is a fine and complete tower house with a battlemented walk round the roof.
Mull of Kintyre, the famous song.
If you find yourself in Argyll and Bute, and more specifically in Kintyre, you will have heard someone or other mention the song ‘Mull of Kintyre’. That is after you yourself were singing it each and every time the word Kintyre popped up. We never quite made it to the Mull, or headland, of the peninsula Kintyre. But, we did something better, we visited the beach where the video clip was filmed. It was within walking distance of Saddel Abbey, and what else would we find when we arrived there there, but . . .
Mists rolling in from the sea
If you watch the clip you can see Saddel castle in the background towards the end of the rambling story that McCartney tells
Famous sculpture
But even more than being on the beach of that famous song, I enjoyed the atmospheric vista, enhanced by a lone statue staring into the mist, sky and sea blending seamlessly into each other.
Antony Gormley
The statue is by well known sculptor Antony Gormley. At first sight you think this is a life size figure. But of course, on closer inspection, our stature is somewhat smaller than this two meter high manikin staring out at sea. Again, it will be enchanting on a summer’s day, but I find the mood of this day well suited to the rust coloured statue with bronze coloured seaweeds at its feet.
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