In article <43dgpo$hmb@news1.delphi.com> PATDEESE@delphi.com writes:
>   - I'm going to Scotland, and plan to make a pilgrimage to the Mull of
>   - Kintyre.  Does anyone have any info about it?   
>   Its a very beautful place although I saw it in the rain and had to
>stand in the rain playing 'Mull" on a tape. Later the hired driver
>played a version of Mull for us on our way back our B & B. it is a
>bit hard to get to.... 

Pat is absolutely right!

It's well worth the visit though, and the town near the Mull has
some awfully nice pubs and places like that.  Frankly, this journey is
not for the faint of heart. If you're wealthy you can fly into
Campbeltown (pronounced "Campbel*ton*" by the locals) via the
Machrinahish Air Strip on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula,
but do it the hard way---drive. The scenery on the way to Paul's
hideaway is stunning, and worth every minute of the three-to-four
hour drive from Glasgow. You'll pass castles, villages, lochs,
rivers; stop for afternoon tea along the way if you need a rest.

All down Kintyre to the west are the western islands---Mull ("mull"
in Gaelic means "promontory"), Iona, Islay, Gigha---which you can
see lounging in the sparkling waters off the coast (or won't see
at all if it's raining. :-) As you turn inward on the A83 road,
eastward toward the town, look for Gobagrennan Road just west of
Campbeltown, and make a left turn; travel a way till you see a
sign that says "High Park". It's private property, mind you; it's
meant to be. Jane Asher picked out the property for Paul in 1966,
and it's continued to be the McCartney get-away ever since. You've
seen photos of Paul, Jane, and Martha the sheepdog on its hills; and
since then Linda has done some photography of the farm, which is in
good working order. Try not to intrude, if possible, even if Paul's
not in residence.

Campbeltown is small (pop. 6100) and unbesmirched by tourism. The
people are earnest, hardworking, and quietly friendly. One of the
local hotels, The White Hart, has its walls decorated with Ordnance
Survey maps of the region, which are very helpful if you're trying
to reach the famed Mull of Kintyre, subject of Paul's huge British
hit (November 1977), which was the second-biggest-selling single in
British chart history (it went nowhere in the States, probably
because of its Gaelic sentimentality and its bagpipe accompaniment).

The actual point that inspired Macca is located about a half-hour's
drive south of Campbeltown; take the road to Southend, and at the fork,
for a real visual treat, veer right on the Dalsmearan Road, a single-
lane passage that takes you through treeless hills and dales, past
old bridges and nameless streams. You'll eventually come to a large
gate; it's kept closed but you can go through if you make sure to
close it after you. If it's lambing season (Spring) watch out for the
new lambs crossing the asphalt. It's another seven miles from this
point, and the road climbs and becomes more treacherous. Wind whips 
along even on sunny days. The hills are covered by yellow scotch broom
and hardy grasses, little else other than the sheep which graze on them.

The road ends about 300 ft. above the Mull's lighthouse, which you
can reach on foot. But the view from this southernmost point of
Kintyre is extraordinary: up the hill it's dense and green, over
the grey-blue water is the island of Islay (to the north) and 
twelve miles away to the south are the cliffs of Ireland, stark
and silent. It's not so much an embracing visage as it is one
of relentless calm, despite the gusts that take away your breath.

All conflicts are gone; all politics silenced; all words nonsense.
I'm surprised Paul had the wits to express its beauty in lyrics we can
comprehend. The Mull of Kintyre was locally famous before Macca wrote 
his song, but now you'll be joined by other occasional adventurers,
walking back up the hill from the Lighthouse or about to start their
tentative way downward, and like all Beatles fans the world over
you need exchange no words with these multi-cultural pilgrims to
know what draws them there. And like those who have had the fortune
to view Penny Lane and Strawberry Field with their own eyes, you will
pass through your own world transformed for the better by what you
have just seen.

-- 
"Fads don't last, but it should be clear by now that 
the Beatles are no ordinary fad."
----------------------------------------------------
saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu