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Tarbert is an easterly facing
town on the upper east side of the Mull of Kintyre Peninsular.
Its name like others of similar name such as Tarbet Loch Lomond,
indicate that there is an isthmus of land as "Tarbert", and its
derivatives, comes from a similar Norse word indicating
that you could pull boats from one waterway to another.
Therefore the small distance from West Loch Tarbert to the
harbour on Loch Fyne, allowed the Vikings easy access from the
waters of the west to the Clyde without having to navigate the
dangerous waters off the Mull of Kintyre and substantially
reduced the time to get into places such as Loch Fyne.
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Tarbert is also a perfect
anchorage and harbour for pleasure craft and small
commercial fishing boats. The town has a bank and a few
shops hotels pubs and restaurants. This is a popular wee
place particularly in the summer months. For a number of
years it has been the main focus of the Scottish Series. A
week of yacht racing at the beginning of the summer season
which brings this small town to life. Through the summer
they also have a Gala week and a Music festival in
September. |
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Courtesy of Brian26 @ Flickr.com |
Tarbert has
also become a good overnight place to stay for anyone travelling
on to the islands of Gigha, Islay or Jura. There is also a ferry
to Portavadie on the Cowal peninsula which runs every day
hourly. About nine miles south of Tarbert there is a ferry to
the isle of Arran from Claonaig Kintyre to Lochranza on Arran.
On the hillside above the harbour
you will find the remains of
Tarbert Castle,
A popular picnic spot and there are also walks around this area.
The castle walk itself is a nice 3 km loop with other trails
leading south with magnificent views across and down Loch Fyne.
The Kintyre Way starts here and
provides excellent long distance walking for those who love long
walks with ever changing scenery. The Paths are a combination of
tracks, forestry paths, B roads and unfortunately there are some
parts which run alongside the main road for a short distance. It
is hoped however that as time goes by there may be some future
developments to the pathing system.
There are also many smaller non
busy roads and forest tracks in the general area which are
suitable for cycling. A particularly nice area is around and
about Skipness and Skipness castle.
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