Around Tarbert

Sunday 17th May 2026

Whenever I come to Scotland, it is common practice for me to spend the first day settling in, acclimatising and doing an easy walk before starting the main goal of my holiday a day or two later. For example, in 2022 I stayed in Stirling over the first weekend of my holiday before moving to the West Highlands and now, since I was going to be walking in an area I had not been in before, this would give me the opportunity to explore and get to know the area before setting off on my planned long distance trail. The place I found myself in was Tarbert on Loch Fyne, which I had arrived at on the previous evening after a three hour journey on the Citylink bus from Glasgow and the poor weather that had greeted me on arrival continued the following morning as I waited for the café to open for breakfast. I took the opportunity to walk around the harbour, but I didn’t go far since it was raining. However, by the time I came out of the café the clouds had begun to break revealing gorgeous blue skies over the pretty little village, so I grabbed my rucksack and set off up to the castle. At home, the bluebells were going to seed, but up here in Scotland they had decorated the side of the road throughout my journey on the bus and now bluebells could be seen on the hillside near Tarbert Castle. 

After wandering around the castle while admiring the view I set off along the course of the Kintyre Way, which usually starts in Tarbert, and I had considered taking. My planning for this holiday was extensive and long, taking many months looking into many options, including walking along the Kintyre Way, but this was eventually rejected, though, since I was in Tarbert I thought I’d have a taste of the trail and walk along the first few miles. A wonderful footpath took me through the community woodland and into moorland past a scattering of various trees before reaching a wide forestry track which soon led me into a conifer plantation, which, as far as I can determine, is largely how the Kintyre Way continues for most of the trail and why I didn’t want to do it. A way marked trail, called the Corranbuie Trail, marked with blue ringed posts, would have brought me back down to Tarbert if I had turned right, but I decided to stay on the Kintyre Way for a while longer so I turned left and followed the track into the conifer plantation steadily climbing the hill. The problem I have with walking on forestry tracks is that they are too wide and even to be enjoyable, and the tall conifers block the views, and it is the views from the top of a hill that really make a walk.  

On the occasions when I did have a view beyond the trees I could see across Loch Fyne and that it was clearly raining further north, which I was happily missing out on. Clouds would pass overhead but not drop their rain until further inland, so I was able to enjoy a pleasant stroll, though tedious, along the track. I just had to decide how far along the Kintyre Way I would be walking before turning back. It would have been great if I could have done the whole first stage of the trail before catching a bus back to Tarbert, but they don’t run on a Sunday, so I would need to retrace my steps. I had planned on going as far as a bridge over the Allt Càrn Chaluim burn taking a track that climbs back up to the highest point on the stage (and almost of the whole trail) before descending back into Tarbert. In the end, when I got to the highest point, out of the trees, amongst the moorland beside Cruach Doire Lèithe, I decided to turn back at this point and not waste the effort. One thing I liked about the Kintyre Way was that there were marker posts for every mile, showing how far you have travelled and the point where I turned back was just after the four mile post. It had been cold and overcast at the top but the sun soon came out again and this made for an enjoyable descent with more extensive views than earlier when rain had obscured the head of the loch.

At a picnic table I stopped for lunch, to enjoy the sunshine and the views across Loch Fyne, but while eating it started to rain heavily, prompting me to a hastily don my waterproofs, but by the time they were all on it had stopped raining. Slowly, I continued to descend along the Kintyre Way until I reached the point where the trail turns right off the track and there I followed the blue marked posts of the Corranbuie Trail, turning right at a second path, which descended interestingly through similar terrain to the earlier ascent and eventually brought me back to Tarbert. Since it was still early in the afternoon I took the opportunity to explore more of the area around the charming, little port using a walk listed on the walkhighlands website called White Shores, which took me to the northern side of the harbour. The weather was now fantastic and provided me with stunning views back towards the village before plunging into woodland along a footpath that led me to Port Bàn where it was the wild flowers inland that most caught my eye including bluebells and wild garlic. 

Exploring the many branching footpaths brought me past more of the lovely bluebells until eventually I returned to my outward path and back to Tarbert where I continued to explore, heading towards West Loch Tarbert and back to the castle, but the best of the day had passed. I enjoyed my aimless, relaxed wandering on this day with no demands on my attention while the sun shone all afternoon so that now I look back on the time I spent in Tarbert at the start of my holiday with much fondness.