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 ...

in the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The name means "

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) 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 count ...

", "crossing point" or "

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) 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 (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

. The isthmus, between the sea lochs

West Loch Tarbert West Loch Tarbert () 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 contains the islands ...

and

East Loch Tarbert East Loch Tarbert () 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 bridged island of Sca ...

, 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 (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

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 nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

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 Uig is a placename meaning "bay" (from Norse) and may refer to: Places * Uig, Coll, a hamlet on the island of Coll, Argyll and Bute, Scotland * Uig, Duirinish, a hamlet near Totaig, on the Isle of Skye, Highland Scotland * Uig, Lewis, a civil par ...

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply 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 by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

. The short A868 joins the terminal to the north–south A859 road.

Economy

The

Harris distillery Isle of Harris Distillery is a Scotch whisky and Gin distillery in Tarbert, Harris, Tarbert on the Harris, Outer Hebrides, Isle of Harris, Scotland. The distillery was the first legal distillery ever built on Harris. History Plans for the disti ...

, a Scotch whisky and

Gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

is located in Tarbert. The Harris Hotel is a well established hostelry in Tarbert. Originally known as the Tarbert Hotel after being built in 1865 by the 7th Earl of Dunmore as a 'sporting retreat' for anglers, the hotel has been in the hands of the same family since the early 1900s.

J.M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

, on his way to the estate of

Amhuinnsuidhe Amhuinnsuidhe () is a settlement on Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The settlement is also within the parish of Harris. Amhuinnsuidhe is centred on the country house, Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, which is adjacent to the B887 road. Geography A ...

in 1912, spent time at the hotel and engraved his signature in a dining room window.

References

External links

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