Argyll’s Secret Coast
The sleepy hamlet of Otter Ferry
O
tter Ferry is a sleepy hamlet of scat- tered farms, fi shermen’s cottages and estate houses set along the
eastern shore of Loch Fyne. It’s one of the hidden gems on Argyll’s Secret Coast, with a thriving local community and a glorious coastline to explore. The wonderful Oystercatcher pub/restaurant sits at the heart of the community serving up delicious locally sourced food in an unbeat- able shore-side setting. The sturdy white- washed building is surrounded by plenty of outdoor tables so you can enjoy beautiful views over the loch on a fi ne day. Tuck into local oysters, mussels and scallops washed down with a locally brewed Fyne Ale. The Oystercatcher opens out onto Otter Bay and the old Otter Ferry Pier. In days
gone by a ferry from east to west Loch Fyne operated from here. With a livestock market, school, ferry, the Old Ferry Inn and the main road to Tighnabruaich, Otter Ferry was a bustling little place. Steamers stopped here in the early part of the 20th century and the passenger ferry ran until the late 1940s. The Gaelic word ‘oitir’ means spit of land or sandbank and it’s from this – rather than the furry animal – that Otter Ferry derives its name. The huge Otter Spit stretches right out into the loch from Otter Bay and is always teeming with birdlife. If you time it right, at low tide you can walk along the spit for about a mile. If you prefer, you can simply while away the hours on the beach watching the yachts sail by, paddling and beachcombing. Stay until the sun sets over
the water and fl oods the sky with spectacu- lar colours, mirrored perfectly in the water.
Otter Ferry is a favourite with sailors and The Oystercatcher was voted one of Yachting Monthly’s Best Waterside Pubs. It’s one of the few anchorages on the east side of the loch, as the spit provides shelter from the prevailing south westerly winds. In 2003 the community formed the Otter Ferry Pier As- sociation to develop access to Otter Ferry by sea. As well as increasing the number of moorings to 15, the group installed a 40m pontoon. So now sailors making a trip into upper Loch Fyne are pretty much guaran- teed a mooring! The latest development sees the building of The Bothy next to The Oystercatcher.
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