Campbeltown Museum
About the museum
Campbeltown Museum celebrates the social history of Campbeltown through a wide range of local fishing and boating items and tells the broader story of Kintyre through its collection of archaeology, art, and natural sciences. Highlights currently on display include a Bronze Age jet necklace and works by Archibald MacKinnon and William McTaggart, and a reflector from the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse. The museum cares for a wide art collection, which can be viewed online via Art UK.
The museum display also contains generous loans; at every level, the Friends of the Museum support the museum. Campbeltown Museum was supported for many years by the Kintyre Antiquarian Society, and its members significantly contributed to the collections. 
Museum Development
Since 2022, the museum has entered a new chapter of development, thanks to a partnership between CHARTS, liveArgyll, and Argyll and Bute Council, regaining full museum accreditation and nationally recognised museum status. This collaborative effort has focused on everything from collections care and exhibition planning to staffing, access, and outreach.
In 2025, specialist ground engineering firm Geobear completed structural stabilisation works at the Burnet Building. During this period, CHARTS, liveArgyll and Kilmartin Museum teams undertook condition checking of objects and all displayed artwork. New displays and improvements to existing ones are now taking place over 2025/26.
Staff and PartnersOpening Doors to Learning and Creativity
Campbeltown Museum is continually developing space for explorative learning, open to all ages.
- 270+ local participants earned Heritage Hero – Explorer Level Awards (in partnership with Archaeology Scotland) in 2024/25.
- Over 250 young people took part in workshops 2024/25.
- Live Literature Workshops: With the Scottish Book Trust, 80 children from Castlehill and Dalintober Primary created original comic book pages.
Visitor Impact
- 2,300 visitors in 2024, including both national and international guests.
- Visitors from 40 countries have visited the museum and engaged with our events.
2025 and Beyond
The coming years promise even more to look forward to.
- Plans for new Live Literature events are already in motion.
- The museum will host the CHARTS Creative Minds project in collaboration with the Kintyre Link Club, using heritage as a pathway to support mental wellbeing.
- “Keeping it Creel” project, the museum will welcome people of all ages to participate in intergenerational workshops and a celebratory open day, exploring the traditions and future of local fishing.
- Partnerships working with Kilmartin Museum will continue to extend Campbeltown Museum’s role in the wider cultural landscape of Argyll.