Tarbert

Kintyre is almost cut off at Tarbert, where a neck of land little more than a mile wide separates Loch Fyne from West Loch Tarbert. According to the Norse sagas, Magnus Barefoot had his galley dragged across it around 1098 to claim Kintyre as an island. The village is built round a sheltered harbour on the Loch Fyne side, where fishing boats still land langoustines and scallops and visiting yachts gather for the Scottish Series regatta each spring. On the hill above are the ruins of Tarbert Castle, which Robert the Bruce strengthened in the 1320s, with views up Loch Fyne. The Kintyre Way starts here, and a CalMac ferry crosses Loch Fyne to Portavadie on Cowal all year.