Tarbert Traditional Boat Festival 2019

Get ready for one the friendliest, laid back, fascinating festivals you will ever visit

Is there anywhere else in West Highland waters that can boast a better claim to a traditional boat festival than Tarbert, Loch Fyne?

Not only has it a long, proud history of fishing but also boat building. Archibald Dickie moved to Tarbert in 1885 and started building fishing boats for the herring fleet; Loch Fyne skiffs were used for ring-net fishing for herring and smaller ones for line fishing and creels. At one time the firm A M Dickie and Sons employed as many as10 men; the majority of the work was commercial boats.

Traditional boats like these and many other designs – and our West Highland maritime heritage – are all celebrated at the Traditional Boat Festival, July 20-21.

Boats visit from across Scotland, the UK and Ireland to take part in the weekend and there are some beauties for everyone to admire; expect to see somewhere around 40 boats with some coming from as far away as the Isle of Man.

If there is one thing traditional boat owners love to do as much as repairing and sailing their vessels, it is talking about them, so feel free to ask questions.

For the fearless, there’s the famous greasy pole – with the almost inevitable drop into the water but there is a bottle of whisky for those who succeed!

This is a small, friendly festival where enthusiasts invite everyone to share their passion; the craic is great and the whole village has a wonderful laid back atmosphere.

The band for the night is ThunderRoad. Stan Craig, of the Tarbert Hotel, said: ‘It is always a pleasure to sponsor the boat festival and we look forward to seeing everyone there.’