Tarbert () is the main community on

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...

in the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The name means "

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...

", "crossing point" or "

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

", in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. The isthmus, between the sea lochs

West Loch Tarbert West Loch Tarbert ( gd, Loch A Siar) is a sea loch that separates the northern and southern parts of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. A small isthmus joins these two areas, on which is to be found the village of Tarbert. The loch contai ...

and

East Loch Tarbert East Loch Tarbert ( gd, Loch an Tairbeairt) is a sea loch that lies to the east of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The loch contains several small islands including Sgeotasaigh, Stiughiag, Stiughiag na Leum and Rosaigh and the larger ...

, joins south Harris to north Harris and Lewis. In 1981 it had a population of 503. Tarbert's

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

parish church was built in 1862, and is within the parish of Harris. Tarbert also has a Free Presbyterian church.

The Very Rev ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Mackintosh MacKay Mackintosh MacKay (1793 – 1873) was a Scottish minister and author who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1849. He edited the Highland Society's prodigious Gaelic dictionary ('Dictionarium Scoto-Celt ...

was minister of the latter in the 1860s.

Transport

Tarbert has a car ferry terminal which operates to Uig on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

. The short A868 joins the terminal to the north–south

A859 road List of A roads in zone 8 in Great Britain starting north of the A8 and west of the A9 (roads beginning with 8). Single- and double-digit roads Triple-digit roads Four-digit roads See also * B roads in Zone 8 of the Great Britain numbe ...

Economy

The

Harris distillery Harris distillery is a Scotch whisky and Gin distillery in Tarbert on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. The distillery was the first legal distillery ever built on Harris. History Plans for the distillery began in 2011 with submission to the loca ...

, a

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

and Gin

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

is located in Tarbert.

References

External links

Canmore - Harris, Tarbert, General site recordCanmore - Cnoc Na Greine, Tarbert, Harris, site record
Villages in Harris, Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub