Melfort

Melfort is a small holiday village nestled in the hills and oak woods at the head of Loch Melfort, amidst some of the most beautiful scenery on the West Coast of Scotland.

Melfort - History

The village and lands of Melfort, in Campbell ownership since the 14th century, were purchased by an English gunpowder company, Harrison Ainslie & Co in 1838 as an ideal location for the manufacture of gunpowder. Not only was it secluded, but it had plentiful supplies of scrub oak and a deep water pier for deliveries of raw materials and export of gunpowder. Production continued until the late 19th century when the estate was sold for farming purposes. Farming continued well into the 1970's when the 'semi-resident' owner began to offer the old farm-workers' cottages for self-catering holidays.

In 1982, the Melfort Estate was offered for sale and the part now known as Melfort Village was purchased by Charles and Helen Stott who had discovered the location whilst on a sailing holiday. Their vision of Melfort was to create a time-share village where people could own, 'a week in Argyll forever for less than a week in Argyll'. Gradually, over a period of 7 years, 32 cottages were built from the ruins of the gunpowder village and farm buildings, developed by the Stotts' company, Loch Melfort Estate Ltd. The Melfort Club, being the association of Melfort time-share owners, was formed in the late 1980's.

By the end of 1992, Melfort was almost fully sold out. Charles Stott then put his house and grounds on the market and sold his interests in Melfort Village to The Melfort Club.

Melfort - Today

Notwithstanding all the changes seen, today Melfort Village is one of the most successful timeshare operations in Scotland, probably the UK. It is owned and managed by The Melfort Club, being the Association of Melfort Time-Share owners, and was formed in the late 1980's. Each time-share owner has a direct say in the way the Village is run, through a professionally qualified Committee elected from the membership.

The Club has 1200 members owning a total of 1600 timeshare weeks, who contribute annually to its maintenance as a high amenity holiday venue.

Every week in each cottage has an owner, although they can choose whether or not to use their week each year. This means that we also have rental guests and guests using the RCI exchange system.