This article is about the current B8026 near Tarbert in Knapdale. For the former B8026 on the Black Isle, see B8026 (Black Isle).
The end of the B8026
The B8026 is a short dead-end road running from the tiny village of West Tarbert to the pier on West Loch Tarbert. This is the old route of the A83, which continued beyond the pier along the coast along a route no longer open to traffic. The new line of the A83 seems to be shown as under construction on the 1961 OS Quarter Inch Map, and is open by 1968. However, it was not until 1971 that the B8026 is depicted as an (un-numbered) B-road. As an old Trunk road, the B8026 is two-way throughout, although narrow by modern standards.
The pier is historically where the steamers, and more recently the ferries for Islay called. Today, they use the new facility at Kennacraig, just a little further down the road. This, rather strangely, is built on an island, connected to the A83 by a single-track causeway. The raison d'être of the B8026 has therefore been taken away, although the road retains its Class II number. For many years, the pier seemed to be a scruffy unloved place, with the road potholed, slightly overgrown and carrying the air of a private access road. However, the road has now been resurfaced in places, and the pier area tidied up.
