About Kintra Farm

Kintra is very much a working farm, and it is our traditional farming practices that have created the habitats that allow rare species to thrive – such as choughs (Kintra lies within an area designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for the chough; it also lies within the Laggan SSSI for chough and Arctic Tern). Kintra is an incredibly rich area for bird spotting: as well as the rare chough, Golden Eagles are regularly seen to the west of Kintra, and in the winter and spring we are inundated with thousands of geese. Swallows are a delight in the summer. Kintra neighbours the RSPB’s The Oa reserve and we are delighted to welcome walkers to access the Oa from the Kintra side. As well as birds, you’ll almost certainly see feral goats, and may be lucky enough to see otters.

The farm is a traditional hill farm – the buildings are primarily stone built, and our animals graze outside, irrespective of the weather. We farm beef cows and sheep and you will almost certainly see us in action at some point during your stay. When you visit, please do remember we are a real working farm – you may well see sheep shearing up close, or silage making, or moving of sheep and lambs, and cattle. And don’t be surprised if you hear or see (or occasionally step on) evidence of sheep and cows. Please always take care; make sure hands are washed thoroughly, and be aware that farm machinery and farm animals can be dangerous and while we do everything we can to ensure you are not put at risk, we do rely on you to use your common sense. Well-controlled dogs are welcome on the campsite at Kintra – areas with livestock where dogs are not allowed are clearly indicated.

We speak Gaelic and are proud tradition bearers. The family are well known Gaelic singers, and that is something that has been passed from generation to generation. You will hear us speaking Gaelic and if you would like us to speak to you in Gaelic, chan eil agaibh ach ri faighneachd!

You will stay on a site managed for wildlife, and use facilities housed in vernacular buildings which have been sympathetically renovated, with a private water supply.

The Environment

As part of our commitment to maintaining the pristine nature of Kintra, we are members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme, which provides accreditation and encouragement for tourism businesses to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. We also work closely with Scottish Natural Heritage to maintain and improve wildlife habitats on our land.

At Kintra we encourage our guests to:

  • Minimise waste. Please use our recycling bins (blue for paper/cardboard; brown for garden; red bag for plastic bottles/cans; the glass bin is in the camping toilet facilities). We do not allow the disposal of chemical effluent at our site – we have our own septic tank and regret that we cannot absorb this type of material.
  • Use water and energy conservatively. Our supply is a private one which must be boiled before use (you will notice its distinctive brown colour – this is from the peaty soil in the area from which it is drawn).  Our water source is very much finite (you can see our reservoir on the walk out beyond the gate to the hill land). We use low-energy bulbs across the site.
  • Use local products where you can, you can source milk, veg and fruit, oysters, local fish and our local butchers stock Islay beef, lamb and game.
  • Keep the noise down. Apart for our own farm animals (!), Kintra is a peaceful site and we would ask all guests to keep it that way.
  • Minimise light pollution (have you seen the night-sky here?)
  • Please use eco products where possible. We try to source eco products for all our housekeeping. As an island business, this can sometimes cost us more but we try our best.
  • Please tell us what else we can do as a business: let us know what you think would improve our sustainability? We aim to review our policy at least annually, and we want to improve.