Tarbert is a fishing village on Loch Fyne, in Argyll, built around a harbor so snug that it looks like a painting. Its name comes from the Gaelic for a narrow neck of land across which boats could be dragged, a portage, and the old tale says that in 1098 the Norse king Magnus Barelegs had his longship hauled across this isthmus to claim the Kintyre peninsula as an island, and so a stretch of Scotland. Whatever the truth, the harbor and its pastel-colored houses make an agreeable picture, with fishing boats and yachts side by side.
A ruined castle on the hill above, associated with Robert the Bruce, adds an air of antiquity. The village has been a herring fishing port for centuries, and today it is better known for shellfish, with langoustines, scallops and Loch Fyne oysters on many menus, landed on the quay and eaten close to where they came from. A yacht race, the Scottish Series, fills the harbor each spring, and the whole village comes alive.
For motorcyclists, the A83 is the road. It runs south down the long Kintyre peninsula, past Skipness and Carradale, through hills and open moor, with views across to Arran and the Atlantic, and it forms the heart of the Kintyre 66 route. The road surface is variable, with some good fast sections and some patched ones, and curves are generally open, though a few tight bends catch the unwary. The weather is changeable, with rain and wind coming in off the sea, and the light on a clear day, with the islands floating on the horizon, is wonderful.
Tarbert has a small supply of services, with a couple of shops and a few places to eat, and for fuel it is best to check ahead, with Lochgilphead, about twenty kilometers north, the safer larger stop. Campbeltown, further south, has more. The best months are May to September, though midges are a pest in still, humid weather. Winter storms can close the road, and ice is a risk. Keep an eye on the fuel gauge, because the peninsula is long and the stations are far between.