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Village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Photo: Steve Partridge, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Tarbert is a village in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland. An Tairbeart is a Gaelic term meaning "carry across", indicating an isthmus where small boats could be portaged from one body of water to another. It's therefore a common place-name in Highland Scotland: this one is specifically Tarbert on Loch Fyne above the Firth of Clyde, a two-mile portage to reach the West Loch opening into the Atlantic. In 2021 it had a population of 1150.
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Fragmentary ruin of a castle from the 13th century and now garrisoned by sheep, you mostly come for the harbour view.
Castle built from the 13th century, with chapel by the shore added in 1300, all abandoned and falling into ruin in the 17th.
Good seafood restaurant, central in Tarbert.
Rave reviews for this restaurant, offering mostly seafood.
Excellent food, licensed, pricey but you're paying for the view and setting.
Small but spotlessly clean rooms in town centre.
Welcoming comfy B&B with harbour views.
Friendly central place, some noise from bar below.
Great welcome, comfort and breakfast at this harbourside B&B.
Quirky B&B in a fisherman's cottage near east ferry pier. LGBT-friendly.
Comfy 3-room B&B along quiet road east of village.
Relaxing, friendly 8-room guesthouse in a 1780 inn on the west loch.
Great reviews for this 36-room hotel in a Baronial mock-castle of 1837. Set in 60 acres of woodland gardens 2 miles north of Tarbert, dog-friendly.
Delightful small inn in the middle of nowhere (i.e., mobile not-spot) with top-notch cuisine.
By boat
Booking ahead is always wise, and at Kennacraig it's essential for caravans and motorhomes - these are not permitted to join the unbooked stand-by queue.
The village can be easily explored on foot, and the east pier (for Portavadie) is half a mile away. You need wheels to reach the other ferry jetties.
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