Farmer and tourism entrepreneur

Born: August 4, 1935

Died: May 29, 2015

Douglas Campbell, who has died aged 79, was one of the most innovative farmers of his generation, who diversified into tourism with holiday parks and leisure facilities.

From humble beginnings as a tenant farmer, he and his family built up a considerable business from his base in Lochgoilhead, to become one of the biggest employers in Argyll, with hotels, shops and eight holiday parks, situated in some of Scotland's most stunning locations.

His family roots were in Carradale, in the Mull of Kintyre, where his grandfather had the only shop in the village. His father served his time as a butcher and the family lived for a time in Greenock, where they had a successful butcher's business.

The Second World War's ravages on Greenock meant that Douglas and his brothers, Keith and John, were evacuated, originally to Carradale and then, because farming tenancies were relatively easy to come by in the 1940s, the family secured the rent of Strachurmore and Upper Succoth farms, Strachur.

He attended Strachur School and rode his Shetland pony, Chumb, to school bareback with a rope halter and no bit, every day. He left her in the field behind the school and rode her home at night. He then went on to board at Strathallan School, Perthshire, but had to leave in 1950, aged 15, when his father died.

The farms carried two shepherds and two men at that time, and the brothers persuaded their mother to let them have a go at running them. She gave them one year to prove themselves. Their first winter was 1951 - the next most challenging winter after the notorious one in 1947 - and they lost a lot of stock, and things were touch and go financially. Fortunately, just after the war, wool was expensive and even the skins of dead sheep were worth money.

In 1957, the family bought the farms as sitting tenants and purchasing them gave the brothers the opportunity to split the business and go on their own.

Being his own boss suited Mr Campbell and he became noted for his drive and energy. One of his main aims was to establish a successful hill sheep flock.

From having Cheviot sheep, he spotted that Blackface sheep, especially the barer coated kind, were more suited to Argyll. He built up a close business friendship with the best Blackface sheep breeder of his day, Ben Wilson, of Troloss, Elvanfoot, and bought many rams from him. The result was that within a couple of years, the female stock from his farms led the trade at the nearest markets of Dalmally and Stirling.

He was an active member of Cowal Young Farmers Club and even then an ability to get things done was evident. He kick-started the local Strachur Show and was chairman of it in its first year. He also had some good working sheepdogs, winning many prizes locally and nationally.

A veritable ball of energy, he was always on the look-out for new challenges and one such presented itself shortly after taking on the rental of Corrow Farm, in Lochgoilhead, in 1962. His landlord wanted a bit of land back to start a caravan park in 1966. Mr Campbell agreed but only on the condition that he ran the caravan park.

As usual, his timing was spot on. Tourism in Scotland was growing and he found this an ideal opportunity to develop a successful holiday business.

By this time, he had married Jean, whom he had met at a young farmers dance in Toward. Together, they worked non-stop to meet the challenges of not only running a successful farming business, but also the demanding needs of tourists, while raising three boys, Keith, Allan and Roy.

In 1962, he employed one man, Donnie McMaster, as a shepherd and today, the business which he founded now has around 250 employees and Argyll Holidays is one of the largest private employers in Argyll. Building the business was not without its challenges, but he proved an extremely loyal employer for those who were hard-working and loyal to him.

He went on to purchase a construction business, three hotels, two shops and ran the local bus service. An early innovation for him was the Corrow Trekking Centre, with its ground-breaking idea of having its own self-catering accommodation above the stables. It became a firm favourite with young people who, at that time, could not afford a horse of their own.

As usual, Mr Campbell was not just content to have ordinary Highland ponies for his trekking centre and he built up a stud of considerable influence and quality. He won the female championship at the Highland Show in 1980, was overall champion in 1982 and won the prestigious St Johns Wells Trophy three times. He even conquered England in 1984, being overall champion at The Royal Show.

At the age of 34, he became the youngest councillor in Argyll. Though he stood as an independent, he backed many local politicians of various persuasions in later years. He gave up his council career after five years to dedicate more time to his family and his ever expanding business.

During a visit to Aviemore, he had the idea of building the first hotel swimming pool and curling rink in Argyll, to be part of the Drimsynie House Hotel. His brother Keith, a well-respected minister in the Church of Scotland, had told him that in the future people would have more time and money to spend on leisure activities and he should forge on with his plans and he was right.

But, with Mr Campbell's turbo-charged enthusiasm, that meant a golf course, a bowling hall, play areas and more bedrooms, all had to be added too. This large project was completed in 1987.

A highlight for all the family was when Princess Anne visited Lochgoilhead to see the Drimsynie Holiday Village in 1989. Then, when the Americans moved out of Dunoon, the family business moved in, creating the Hunters Quay Holiday Village from a green field site. It is now the largest family-owned holiday park in Scotland and has been a great boost to the local economy which had been left in limbo after the departure of the high-spending Americans.

Socially, Douglas enjoyed curling and travelled the world to watch 15 World Championships. Local projects interested him greatly and quietly, he was a private patron of shinty, pipe bands, Highland dancing, the bowling club and such like. This dedication to local projects made him well-known and respected in Cowal, culminating in him being awarded Life Patron status with one of his favourite social events, the Cowal Highland Gathering.

Another unsung side of his character was to help local people get their first rung on the ladder, whether it was giving them their first job or helping them establish a business.

In more recent times, with his sons taking over the driving position of the business, which is now known as Argyll Holidays, several other holiday parks were purchased and developed at Loch Eck, Loch Awe and Loch Lomond.

The list of accolades achieved by the business over the years has been quite astounding. But the one that gave Mr Campbell and his wife most pleasure was when Argyll Holidays won the Scottish Family Business of the Year award in 2013.

He is survived by wife Jean, sons Keith, Allan and Roy, their respective wives, Irene, Susan and Liz, and seven grand-children.

KEN FLETCHER