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Tarbert,
Loch Fyne

also:
Claonaig
Kennacraig
Skipness
Page Updated 23/05/17
From Gaelic "An Tairbeart"  meaning an isthmus or more literally a place over which a boat can be dragged. King Magnus the Barefoot did just this to declare Kintyre an island - and annexe it - in around 1098.
Claonaig - Gaelic "claon" - sloping; Norse "aig" - bay.
Kennacraig - Gaelic "ceann na creige" - "head of rock".
Skipness - Norse/Icelandic - "Ship's cape".
Click the map's Google logo to go to Google Maps - for Directions, Street View etc.
Undiscovered Scotland      Wikipedia    Tarbert Loch Fyne     Explore Argyll   
​Argyll's Secret Coast
Skipness Castle dates from around 1200 when it was built by Sven the Red or his son - the family became Clan MacSween who also built Castle Sween in Knapdale and Lochranza Castle on Arran. The MacDonalds (Lords of the Isles) acquired the MacSween lands when the latter were forced out after backing the losing King Hakon IV (of Norway) at the Battle of Largs in 1263. The MacDonalds built the curtain wall and held the castle until their own downfall in 1493 when the Campbells took over Kintyre. 
Tarbert Castle occupies an important strategic position, commanding the isthmus, as well as providing views up Loch Fyne and across to the Firth of Clyde. Forts on the site are recorded to have been burned twice in the 8th century, and the castle was important to the Kings of Scotland from the time of Robert the Bruce. James IV rebuilt it in 1494 as part of his successful campaign to defeat the Lords of the Isles.

Tarbert Castle Info    Detailed History of Tarbert Castle
Picture

Tarbert & Whisky

Plenty of places to drink whisky, but for distilleries you have to keep on down the road to Campbeltown - or take the ferry to Islay or Arran.
Picture
Picture
Tarbert Castle
Picture
Skipness Castle
Picture
Skipness
Tarbert is a common place name in Scotland (sometimes spelt slightly differently, Tarbet or Tarbat). So there is the need to differentiate it as Tarbert, Loch Fyne (sometimes Tarbert, Argyll and Bute) to distinguish it from Tarbert, Harris, Tarbert, Jura or Tarbet, Loch Lomond for example.
Kennacraig is nothing more than a ferry terminal, and Claonaig a ferry slip, though there are a couple of houses at the junction of the B842 and B8001.
Skipness is the end of the road up the East side of Kintyre, but has a shop, cafe, ruined castle and ruined chapel - there is a footpath (part of the Kintyre Way) to Tarbert, which otherwise can only be reached by crossing the Kintyre peninsula on the B8001 and rejoining the A83.

Arriving & Departing

Open Cycle Map  Bing Map  
Nearest train stations: Dalmally (DAL) (53 miles), Oban (OBN) (50), Ardrossan Harbour (ADS) (25 miles plus 2 ferries). Live Train Times: DAL OBN, ADS  
Tarbert is close to 3 ferry terminals - the one in the town links to Portavadie on the Cowal peninsula hourly in Summer - and also has a daily sailing to Arran in Winter which means there's a 3 hour mid-day gap in sailings to Portavadie. The Summer service to/from Arran (Lochranza) is from Claonaig about 10 miles from Tarbert. The Islay ferry from Kennacraig is 5 miles away Summer/Winter. (A service from Colonsay and Oban operates on Saturdays in Winter and  both to and from those ports on Wednesdays in Summer). The Gigha ferry from Tayinloan is a little further away (19 miles) Summer/Winter.

Sleeping

Ardglass B&B   Garval Road   01880 820884   @
The Cuillins B&B 
 Cove Road   01880 820189   @
Dunivaig B&B   Pier Road   01880 820896    @
Glenorchy Villa    Pier Road   01880 820623/07899 815589   @
Heathfield West B&B   Pier Road   01880 820728    @
Knapp GH  Campbeltown Road   01880 820015    @
The Moorings B&B   Pier Road   01880 820756   @
Southcliffe B&B   Lady Ileene Road 01880 825199   @
Springside Villa B&B   Pier Road   01880 820413   @
Struan House   Harbour Street   01880 820190    @
Anchor Hotel     Harbour Street   01880 820577   @
Islay Frigate Hotel   Harbour Street   01880 820300 
Tarbert Hotel   Harbour Street   01880 820264   @
Victoria Hotel  Barmore Road   01880 820263    @
The Columba Hotel  East Pier Road  (closed)
The West Loch Hotel  Campbeltown Road  01880 820283  (1 mile)  @
Stonefield Castle Hotel   Barmore Road  01422 323200  (1 mile)   @
Further out:  
The Hollies    A83   01880 820742  (3 miles)  (no web) ??
The Anchorage B&B  Kilberry Road   01880 820813 (9 miles)   closed?
Barr na Criche B&B   Kilberry Road   01880 820833  (9 miles)   @
Kilberry Inn   Kilberry  01880 770223   (15 miles)    @
Bluebell Cottage   Redhouse (5 miles)  
For self-catering see:
Scottish Accommodation Index, West Scotland,  Kintyre Accommodation/Visit Kintyre,   Scottish Accommodation Guide 
Kintyre Way    Tarbert Loch Fyne Accommodation    Visit Scotland
Internet Guide to Scotland    Roomfinder Scotland

Eating

Anchor Hotel     Harbour Street   01880 820577  
Anchorage Restaurant  Harbour Street   01880 820881 (dead web)   @
Café Ca'Dora   Harbour Street  01880 820258  
Lite Bites Tearoom   School Road   01880 820191
Scott's Restaurant, Struan House    Harbour Street   01880 820190  
Starfish Restaurant   Castle Street   01880 820773   
Tarbert Hotel   Harbour Street   01880 820264  
Tarbert Tandoori   Harbour Street  01880 821099
Victoria Hotel  Barmore Road   01880 820263    
The West Loch Hotel  Campbeltown Road   01880 820283 (1 mile)  
Kilberry Inn   Kilberry  01880 770223   (15 miles)    
Skipness Seafood Cabin  Skipness  01880 760207  (13 miles)   @

Drinking

Anchor Hotel     Harbour Street   01880 820577
Tarbert Hotel   Harbour Street   01880 820264
"a wide selection of regular, mature and unusual whiskies especially if you are a whisky enthusiast"
Victoria Hotel  Barmore Road   01880 820263
The West Loch Hotel   Campbeltown Road   01880 820283  (1 mile)
Kilberry Inn   Kilberry  01880 770223   (15 miles)

Cycling

Cycle Shops
Crinan Cycles  Lochgilphead 01546 603511 (13 miles)
Tarbert is on Cycle Route 78, which reaches Tarbert  via a long detour around Knapdale - 32 miles from Ardrishaig, rather than the 11 along the main A83. The route South to Campbeltown also avoids the A83, but that only adds a mile to the 37 along the main road - be prepared for a lot more climbing though!
Alternatively, you could go off-road, which will take you into the remote interior of the peninsula - follow this link for an account of a ride along Kintyre Way.


Shopping

Co-Op
Post Offices: Tarbert,  Skipness
Check PO Branch finder (search for postcode PA29) for opening times.
Banking - Bank of Scotland, Harbour Street (ATM)

Raining??

BBC Weather     The Weather Channel
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Places
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Carradale
Clachan
Glenbarr
Kilkenzie
Muasdale

Tayinloan

Distilleries
Campbeltown Distilleries
Glengyle
Glen Scotia
Springbank
Picture
PS Waverley visits Tarbert
Picture
Picture
Photos on this page were taken by me. Click on photo to enlarge. Full size versions and my other pictures of Tarbert are available on Flickr at: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martynjenkins/sets/72157633013208946/
Please check details - links, prices, ranges of whiskies etc are correct as of the Page Updated date. Any errors please let me know.
Listing of any hotel, restaurant, B&B etc is NOT a recommendation - unless accompanied by text to that effect.
Abbreviations
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Guide to New Distilleries/Projects in Scotland
Whisky Regions in Scotland
Distilleries by Region: Campbeltown  Island  Islay  Lowland  Highland  Speyside  Grain
Highland Areas: North  East  South & West  Central
Speyside Areas: Spey  Avon/Livet/Fiddich/Dullan  Lossie  Deveron/Isla  Coastal/Findhorn
Campbeltown's Lost Distilleries: Index  A-C  D-K  L-W
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Photos licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
My Flickr Distilleries collection: www.flickr.com/photos/martynjenkins/collections/72157627004852499/
Email: whiskycyclist@gmail.com
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