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Town in Scotland
Photo: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Tarbert is a village on Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With a population of 550, it's the main town and ferry terminal for Harris. It's the ideal base for touring the whole of Harris: you can also tour Lewis (which of course is the same island) but that's quite a drive from here.
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This is a residential outdoor activity centre for young people, open all year, on A859 near the boundary between Harris and Lewis. It's often block-booked by groups, but may have availability for bunks and for activities such as mountain biking or sailing on the loch. It's not routinely staffed, so you need to arrange access in advance.
A fast-food trailer
Bustling cafe with outside and inside tables, serving reasonable but unexceptional fare. However it isn't on the waterside - you might get a glimpse from an outside table, but what you mostly see is traffic on Pier Road.
Rave reviews for this out-of-the-way restaurant on the road towards Scalpay. Get there quick before the chef gets head-hunted by a swanky Knightsbridge eatery charging five times Flavour's prices.
Distillery founded in 2015 producing gin and Hearach single malt whisky. The latter has a recommended price of £65 per bottle. It's medium peaty.
Hostel with 3 dormitories, open March-Dec. Clean and comfy, with bike storage. You need to be out between 10AM and 2PM.
Small hostel and self-catering cottages, dog friendly, they offer kayak hire.
A hostel run by Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust, open all year. It doesn't take bookings and has no phone, so you take a chance on availability and it's unsuitable for large groups. No shops nearby, so bring along food. Assistance dogs only.
Good welcoming B&B.
B&B in 20th-century Hebridean house on croft land, open April-Sept. It earns rave reviews for its quality of service.
Reliable long-established hotel open all year. JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan, stayed here in 1912. Look for his initials scratched on the dining room window.
Comfy place open all year with 21 en suite rooms, and four self-catering apartments. The restaurant is popular with passers-by.
Grand baronial pile built in 1867. Mostly catering to fishing and deer-stalking parties, with hire of rods, guns, ghillies, boats; but others will enjoy. Post-covid they don't offer individual rooms, but you can be Laird of the whole show (sleeps 18) for £40,000 a week. The space between shore and hill is so narrow that the public road practically brushes the front door mat. The estate also has 5 more modest cottages which cost from £800 per week.
No supermarkets on Harris, so this is the main store.
Friendly little newsagent and grocers.
Tarbert pier has Calmac ferries year-round daily from Uig on Skye, taking 1 hour 40 min. Buses from Glasgow connect with the ferries at Uig.
Read in the guideTarbert can easily be explored on foot, but you needs wheels to get anywhere in rugged Harris.
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Stornoway, Western Isles · Regional · SYY
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