Oban & Lorn Oban


Fishing boats in Oban Bay Photo courtesy of Dennis Hardley.


T


o many, Oban is the beating heart of the west Highlands, a vibrant seaside town that is also the lifeblood of the


villages and islands that surround it. Whether you are arrive by land, sea or sky, the Victorian waterfront creates a delightful impression and locating its four piers is a good way to get your bearings. Most prominent is the Railway Pier, depar- ture point for trains and ferries to the Heb- rides, with the North Pier, which hosts visit- ing ships, a recommended destination for boat-spotters. Tall ships, ex-herring drifters, cruise liners, and occasionally the Waverley paddle steamer, are among the craft that can sometimes be spotted here. The Lighthouse Pier is home to ships serv- icing lighthouses along the coast, and the neighbouring South Pier is the base for fi shing boats. If you would rather be at sea than looking out to it, there are plenty of excursions on offer, from sea plane tours to fi shing trips and wildlife watching cruises. As well as the rich bird life, grey and common seals are plentiful around Oban, and it’s not unusual to spot a porpoise in the bay. Oban’s most prominent landmark, Mc- Caig’s tower, overlooks the town. You can reach its summit on foot from the town centre, and from there watch the black and


white ferries glide across the bay, and look to the Isle of Kerrera and beyond to the hills of Mull. The circular granite structure looks like a castle, but is actually a folly, built by local banker John Stuart McCaig in 1897. He started the project, which cost him around £5,000, in part as a means of using Argyll granite and keeping local stonemasons em- ployed, during a diffi cult economic period. There is more to Oban than landmarks and a historic harbour – as the gateway to so many world class attractions, it has become a truly cosmopolitan destination, albeit one with a celtic soul. History Although there are important ancient settle- ments close by, and Viking invasions took place along the coastline, Oban’s status as the unoffi cial capital of the west High- lands is relatively recent, with the modern town growing up around the whisky distill- ery (open to visitors 10am – 5pm, 01631 572005) which opened in 1794 and con- tinues to produce the internationally recog- nised Oban Single Malt. The town was recognised by royal charter in 1811 and gained further momentum with the arrival of steam ships and trains, bring- ing well known visitors including Queen Vic- toria, the poet Wordsworth and composer


Felix Mendelssohn. Oban confi rmed its strategic importance in the Second World War, when it was an important location in the Battle of the At- lantic, with several key facilities, including a Royal Air Force fl ying boat base at Gana- van, where an anti submarine station de- tected enemy vessels in the Sound of Mull. You can fi nd out more at the Oban War and Peace Museum on the esplanade (01631 570007). Follow the shoreline west, passing St Co- lumba’s Cathedral, built in the 1930s, and the town’s War Memorial, and you come to ivy-covered 15th century ruins of Dunollie castle, an historic stronghold for the Mac- Dougall clan that remains in the family of the one-time Lords or Lorne today. The 1745 House, a museum and cultural centre, re- cently opened here in the former servants’ quarters of the MacDougall’s 18th century home (www.dunollie.org). Having come this far, the noises of town fade as the views improve. A few more cor- ners bring you to Ganavan sands, Oban’s popular beach, and from here where a cy- cle path through the dunes connects the town to the neighbouring village of Dunbeg. There, emerging from a huge rock, the 13th century Dunstaffnage castle, overlooks the Firth of Lorn.


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