The sea loch of West Loch Tarbert lies on the western coast of the Kintyre Peninsula, running northeast from Ardpatrick Point to the settlement of West Tarbert. An isthmus, only a mile (1.5 km) in width, separates West Loch Tarbert from East Loch Tarbert on the eastern coast. It was here in 1098 that, according to legend, Magnus Barelegs, son of King Olaf of Norway, had his men drag his ship across the isthmus and thereby claim Kintyre was an island and therefore a Viking possession. A regular steamer service operated from a pier the loch to Islay from 1825 until the service transferred to Kennacraig in 1978.
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