When Paul McCartney came to the end of his time with the Beatles, there was one place in Scotland that offered respite and a place to look to the future – both for his growing family and for new musical projects. The idyllic Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula not only captured his heart but also provided inspiration for his new band.
He would even go on to write a pretty famous song about an area close to his new home.
This remote town was once considered to be Scotland's 'Whisky Capital' and is still home to three of the country's top distilleries – at one point there were more than 30 – with people still visiting regularly to discover the area's distilling heritage.
But it was the remoteness and the rugged beauty of the area that appealed to the former Beatle. Seeking the madness of his time with the Beatles Paul and then-girlfriend Jane Asher bought High Park Farm in Campbeltown in 1966. It's here that he began to write music again and to discover what life was like after the Beatles.
He would go on to form the first incarnation of Wings with first wife Linda Eastman, and have his first child Mary, with other daughter Stella following in 1971.
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This was the place he spent putting the finishing touches to his first solo album, McCartney, the foundations of which would go on to form his next music project.
Scot Alistair Taylor, who would often help The Beatles, said it was the ideal place for Paul, he said: "It was so far removed from his normal way of living but that's what Paul wanted. He wanted to live a simple life and at High Park, he took that idea to the ultimate level."
Paul started Wings in the early 70s with his wife Linda who he’d taught to play keyboards. The couple then built a basic recording studio, dubbed Rude Studio, in a unit next to the main farm building before adding more members to the band.
Still the centre of attention regardless of how he tried to escape the limelight, Paul was eventually arrested for growing cannabis at the farm and fined £100 by Campbeltown Sheriff Court.
The family loved the farm up until Linda's untimely death in the late 90s, now it appears to hold too many sad memories for Paul as he now rarely returns.
Linda's life has been commemorated though by the locals who loved her, with a bronze statue and memorial garden built for her in Campbeltown.
Scotland still remains close to his heart, Speaking to the Daily Record in 2018, he revealed: “Going up to Scotland was real freedom. It was an escape – our means of finding a new direction in life and having time to think about what we really wanted to do.”
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