place

Skipness

Argyll and Bute geography stubsPages with Scottish Gaelic IPAUse British English from February 2015Villages in Kintyre
Skipness Bay, Kintyre. geograph.org.uk 181056
Skipness Bay, Kintyre. geograph.org.uk 181056

Skipness (Scottish Gaelic: Sgibinis, pronounced [ˈs̪kʲipɪnɪʃ]) is a village on the east coast of Kintyre in Scotland, located just over 7 miles (11 km) south of Tarbert and facing the Isle of Arran. There is Skipness Castle (a ruined castle) and Kilbrannan Chapel, which contains some rare grave slabs. There is a nearby cafe that serves fresh fish from the area, and beer brewed on Arran, which can be seen from anywhere in Skipness. Also in the area, there is an organic tannery. There are cottages available to rent in Port na Chrò near the village that are situated by a beach. Both the castle and the chapel date from the 13th century, and are maintained by Historic Scotland. Many of the cottages which can be rented have their own boats and, during the summer months, mackerel and pollack can be caught from them as well as a whole host of other species. There are plenty of walks running from and through Skipness, and many shorter ones are located in the picturesque Skipness Estate (which rents out cottages and serves the seafood). Although Skipness is a tiny village with only one shop, it serves the basics, and there are other communities nearby such as Tarbert and Campbeltown from which groceries can be bought.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Skipness (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 55.766944444444 ° E -5.345 °
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Address

B8001
PA29 6XT
Scotland, United Kingdom
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Skipness Bay, Kintyre. geograph.org.uk 181056
Skipness Bay, Kintyre. geograph.org.uk 181056
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Nearby Places

East Loch Tarbert, Argyll
East Loch Tarbert, Argyll

East Loch Tarbert, Argyll is a small sea loch on the eastern side of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. It is a part of the much larger Loch Fyne. The village of Tarbert lies along the shores of the loch, which is separated from West Loch Tarbert by an isthmus only 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long.According to Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, had his longship dragged across this isthmus as part of a campaign to increase his possessions in the Hebrides. He made an arrangement with King Malcolm III of Scotland that he could take possession of land on the west coast around which a ship could sail. Magnus declared that Kintyre had "better land than the best of the Hebrides", and by taking command of his ship's tiller and "sailing" across the isthmus he was able to claim the entire peninsula, which remained under Norse rule for more than a dozen years as a result.More than two centuries later Robert the Bruce completed a similar feat during the Scottish Wars of Independence in order to impress the clan chieftains of Argyll. He used tree trunks as rollers.In the 18th century Thomas Pennant recorded that sea-going vessels of up to 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons) were being hauled over the isthmus in order to avoid the dangers of storms and tidal races in the seas surrounding the Mull of Kintyre. James Watt surveyed the area and decided that it was feasible to construct a canal between the two lochs. Some 60 years later it was estimated that the cost for a cut without locks would be £90,000 but delays in implementation and the construction of the Crinan canal in 1801 rendered the plan redundant.In the modern era the Tarbert (Loch Fyne) Harbour Commissioners control the loch, an area defined as "from the point of Garvell on the North, to the Oakenhead or Rudha Loigste point on the South". There are various quays and slipways in the inner harbour and 80 pontoon berths for yachts and other leisure craft.

Tarbert, Kintyre
Tarbert, Kintyre

Tarbert (Scottish Gaelic: An Tairbeart, pronounced [ən̪ˠ ˈt̪ʰaɾʲapərˠʃt̪], or Tairbeart Loch Fìne to distinguish it from other places of the same name) is a village in the west of Scotland, in the Argyll and Bute council area. It is built around East Loch Tarbert, an inlet of Loch Fyne, and extends over the isthmus which links the peninsula of Kintyre to Knapdale and West Loch Tarbert. Tarbert had a recorded population of 1,338 in the 2001 Census. Tarbert has a long history both as a harbour and as a strategic point guarding access to Kintyre and the Inner Hebrides. The name Tarbert is the anglicised form of the Gaelic word tairbeart, which literally translates as "carrying across" and refers to the narrowest strip of land between two bodies of water over which goods or entire boats can be carried (portage). In past times cargoes were discharged from vessels berthed in one loch, hauled over the isthmus to the other loch, loaded onto vessels berthed there and shipped onward, allowing seafarers to avoid the sail around the Mull of Kintyre. Tarbert was anciently part of the Gaelic overkingdom of Dál Riata and protected by three castles – in the village centre, at the head of the West Loch, and on the south side of the East Loch. The ruin of the last of these castles, Tarbert Castle, still exists and dominates Tarbert's skyline. Around the year 1098 Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, had his longship carried across the isthmus at Tarbert to signify his possession of the Western Isles. Despite its distinction as a strategic stronghold during the Middle Ages, Tarbert's socioeconomic prosperity came during the Early Modern period, as the port developed into a fishing town. At its height, the Loch Fyne herring fishery attracted hundreds of vessels to Tarbert.