Google Maps all at sea over Tarbert

Google just cannot seem to see the wood for the trees when it comes to putting Tarbert, Argyll, on the map. It has now misplaced the picture postcard tourist village – which nestles on the shores of Loch Fyne – not once, not twice, but a staggering three times.

Tarbert and Skipness Community Councillor Wilma Watts said: “Tarbert is hovering around the area like an alien ship; they might as well just take a dart and throw it at the map.

“It’s been north of us, at Kilmichael glen, it’s been east, on the wrong side of Loch Fyne on the Cowal peninsula, and now it’s showing up south of us – in a forest! Somebody at Google is having a laugh.”

The community council has been fighting a two-year battle to win Tarbert its rightful place on the map since it made the shock discovery that Google had originally missed it out altogether.

But Mrs Watts said the latest listing, showing Tarbert 12 miles south of its true location, in a deep, wooded forest near Clachan, was the last straw.

Mrs Watts said: “We are a sailing destination, we host the Scottish Series [the north of Britain’s premier sailing regatta] but Google put us in the middle of a forest, it’s unbelievable.”

Tele Atlas, which is owned by TomTom satnav and provides mapping information for Google and sat nav systems, owned up to errors in the past. But a spokeswoman for TomTom was adamant that the latest gaffe was all Google’s, as their map had now been correctly updated,” she added.

However, Mrs Watts said: “Tarbert is still coming up as Carse on TomTom and TomTom is also diverting any traffic heading south of Tarbert away from the village, diverting it on the B8024 – a back road meant for timber lorry traffic.”

Community councillor Ian MacIntyre, who runs a shop in Tarbert, said businesses were infuriated by the repeated mapping blunders, which were costing them crucial trade in a time of recession. Mr MacIntyre said: “I just wish we could get Tarbert back on the map, where it should be. We have asked Transport Scotland for a brown tourist sign giving directions to Tarbert, to be erected at the junction of the B8024, but we have had a letter back from their area manager saying we can’t have one because Tarbert is not a tourist destination, it is a ‘place’.

“I would make the case that Tarbert was already a tourist destination back in the 1320s, Robert the Bruce was the first recorded tourist.”

A Google spokesman said: “We apologise for any frustration the listing error has caused, and as always, encourage users to communicate directly with us and let us know about any updates that need to be made to our maps by using the ‘Report a problem’ tool on the bottom of the listing.”

Phil Hinchliff, Transport Scotland’s area manager north network maintenance trunk road and bus operations, said: “Tarbert is not a tourist destination facility or attraction in the terms of the tourist signing policy, it is a place.

“If we give additional signage due to people following their SatNav this would/could lead to other cases being presented, which would lead on to sign proliferation, which is against the policy and also the guidance set out in the Road furniture in the Countryside document. Consequently, there are no plans to erect any additional signing.”