Tarbert Castle and harbour

Tarbert is a village in Argyll and Bute,Scotland.

Get in

By bus

Tarbert and Tarbet On the 926 bus service from Glasgow to Campbeltown, there are two stops called Tarbert and Tarbet, which is next to Loch Lomond. If you don't make it clear to the driver of the bus, you could be 50 miles away from your destination before you know it!

Tarbert is served by the Citylink bus from Glasgow to Campbeltown 3 times per day. Buses often run in West Coast Motors livery. The journey may take three and a quarter hours to get to Tarbert during peak times.

By boat

Caledonian MacBrayne runs the following car ferries which may be of interest:

• Portavadie to Tarbert every hour or so (daytime) daily in summer only. Together with the Gourock to Dunoon service, this provides a shorter route from Glasgow, or makes part of various circular routes. Buses [1] also run from Portavadie to the Isle of Bute and Dunoon (for the ferry to Gourock and the train link there to Glasgow)
• 1 Kennacraig to Islay twice a day. Kennacraig is 6 miles South of Tarbert, and is served by the Citylink buses to Campbeltown.
• Claonaig to Lochranza (Arran) 1 1/4 hourly daily from March to October. Claonaig is about 10 to 11 miles south of Tarbert.
• Tayinloan to Gigha daily, roughly hourly. Tayinloan is 12 miles South of Tarbert, and is served by the Citylink and West Coast Motors buses to Campbeltown, but there is a 1/4 mile walk from the bus stop to the pier. The 449 bus from Lochgilphead to Campbeltown runs to the ferry terminal, though.

Get around

The village can be easily explored on foot.

See

Tarbert Castle

• Tourist Information Office in Harbour Street open daily in summer.
• 1 Tarbert Castle. Ruined castle dating from the 13th century with some modern sculpture in the grounds. free. (updated Sep 2015)
• Yachts and fishing boats in the harbour
• Gardens of Stonefield Castle Hotel.

Do

• Seafood Festival in July
• Tarbert Fair in July
• Music Festival in September

Buy

Beautiful engraved glass and original artwork at the Luckenbooth Gallery

Prints and original art at Loch Fyne Gallery

Stuart Heard's original paintings

Eat

There is an excellent chippy in the Town Centre - I forget what it is called, but it is on the road to the Tarbert ferry terminal and it has a foreign (Italian?) name. Serves some of the best fish and chips ever!

• Anchorage Restaurant, Harbour street. Best restaurant in Tarbert great seafood 

Drink

• Cafebarge. Excellent licensed cafe serving vegetarian and seafood. Oh, and it is on a big old barge moored in the harbour. 

Sleep

Bed and Breakfast

• Dunivaig B&B,Dunivaig (Gaelic for 'Castle By The Sea') is a beautiful Scottish baronial style family home situated in a quiet location with stunning views across Loch Fyne. Pier Road, Tarbert, Argyll PA29 6UG, +44 1880 820896 [2].

Hotels

• West Loch Hotel Tarbet, Argyll, PA29 6YF, ☏ +44 1880 820283. 
• Stonefield Castle Hotel, Tarbert PA29 6YJ. Set in Gardens 2 miles from Tarbert. Expensive.

Go next

• Your next stop could be Islay, Gigha, Isle of Arran, Isle of Bute, Dunoon or Oban.
• Skipness
• Campbeltown