Current Highland Council timetable — Monday to Saturday and Sunday patterns
Departures 1–10 / 10
Departures 1–10 / 10
Crossing time
~5 min
Operator
The Highland Council
Map – Corran Ferry
| Fare type | Price |
|---|---|
| Foot passenger, single | £2.00 |
| Car, single | £13.00 |
| Motorcycle, single | £6.00 |
| Pedal cycle and cyclist | Free |
| Senior (60+), young person (up to 22) or disabled passenger | Free |
| Campervan or minibus up to 16 seats, single | £18.00 |
| Motorhome 6-8 m, single | £23.50 |
| Motorhome over 8 m, single | £32.00 |
| Caravan, single | £18.00 |
| Van or lorry under 7.5 tonnes, single | £18.00 |
| Coach 36+ seats, single | £35.00 |
Fares rose on 1 May 2026 and are collected on board; card is preferred and cash should be the exact amount. Foot passengers pay £2, but that fare only bites on a narrow band of adults: anyone aged 60 or over, anyone up to 22, disabled passengers and cyclists cross free. A car is £13 each way, and the price climbs steeply with length — a motorhome over 8 metres pays £32, two and a half times the car fare, because the deck space it occupies is what the council is really selling. All fares in pounds sterling (GBP).
The Corran Ferry crosses the Corran Narrows, the point where Loch Linnhe pinches to barely half a kilometre before opening out again towards Mull. It is the busiest single-vessel ferry in Scotland, and the reason is geography rather than tourism: without it, a driver heading from Fort William to Ardgour, Strontian, Kilchoan or the Ardnamurchan peninsula faces a detour of about 70 miles round the head of Loch Eil. The five-minute crossing replaces the better part of two hours.
That makes it an unusual ferry to write about. Most island services carry visitors; this one carries the school run, the fuel tanker, the district nurse and the fish lorry. The timetable reflects that. Sailings run every 20 minutes through the morning peak, when traffic is heaviest into Fort William, then settle to every 30 minutes for the rest of the day. The last two departures sit outside the half-hourly pattern, at 21:10 from Corran and 21:00 from Ardgour, with a final run twenty minutes later.
The route is operated directly by The Highland Council rather than by a ferry company, which shapes how it behaves. Fares are set as a council charge and were raised on 1 May 2026. Concessions are unusually generous at both ends of the age range — under-22s and over-60s cross free on foot — because the council treats the ferry as part of the road network rather than as a commercial service.
The practical caution is the vessel. A single ferry carries the whole route, so a mechanical fault or a spell of strong southwesterly wind in the narrows stops the service outright rather than thinning it. When that happens the council posts a notice on its Corran Ferry page, and the long way round Loch Eil becomes the only option. Anyone relying on a specific sailing, particularly late in the evening, should check before setting off.
- Arrive at the slipway a few minutes before departure; vehicle queues build quickly in summer.
- Check the operator's notices before travelling — tides, weather and maintenance affect sailings.
- Confirm accepted payment methods: several crossings are contactless-only.
Frequently asked questions
About five minutes across the water. Allow longer in the morning peak: with one vessel working a 20-minute cycle, a queue of more than a deck-load means waiting for the next sailing.
£13 single, from the fares that took effect on 1 May 2026. There is no return ticket at that price — you pay each way. Motorcycles are £6 and bicycles are free.
The adult foot fare is £2, but most people do not pay it. Senior citizens aged 60 and over, children and young people up to 22, and disabled passengers all cross free.
No. It is turn-up-and-go, with fares collected on board. Card is preferred; if you pay cash, have the exact amount ready.
21:30 from Corran and 21:20 from Ardgour, seven days a week. Both of those sit after the regular half-hourly pattern ends, so they are easy to miss when reading the timetable.
Yes, but it starts later. The first sailing is 08:45 from Corran and 08:30 from Ardgour, then every 30 minutes; the late evening sailings are unchanged.
The alternative is the road round the head of Loch Eil through Kinlocheil, roughly 70 miles. That is why the council posts outages prominently — an unplanned stoppage adds around two hours to a journey that should take five minutes.
£23.50 for 6 to 8 metres and £32 over 8 metres, against £13 for a car. Fares are charged by length because deck space, not weight, is the limiting factor on the crossing.