Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING AND DRINKING
Brambles Main St West, T 01499 302252. Fabulous
bistro/bakery that's invariably packed to the gunnels with
punters here to natter over a cup of freshly roasted coffee
and home-made cake. Daily 8.30am-6pm.
George Hotel Main St East, T 01499 302111. The
rambling, and very convivial, restaurant/bar of the
George feels like a proper pub with its flagstone flooring,
log fires, and dimly lit nooks and crannies in which to
linger over a pint. Offers decent food too; haggis, neeps
and tatties (£7.95), and steak pie with mash and
buttered carrots (£9) are typical of the menu. Daily
11am-11pm.
6
Oban and around
he solidly Victorian resort of OBAN enjoys a superb setting - the island of Kerrera to
the southwest providing its bay with a natural shelter - distinguished by a bizarre
granite amphitheatre, dramatically lit at night, on the hilltop above the town. Despite a
population of just 8000, it's by far the largest port in northwest Scotland, the second-
largest town in Argyll and the main departure point for ferries to the Hebrides.
Although Oban is not blessed with a particularly stunning array of sights, there's more
than enough to keep you entertained for a day or so, and it's one of the best places in
Scotland to eat fresh seafood.
McCaig's Tower
Apart from the setting and views, the only truly remarkable sight in Oban is the town's
landmark, McCaig's Tower , a stiff ten-minute climb from the quayside. Built in
imitation of Rome's Colosseum, it was the brainchild of a local businessman a century
ago, who had the twin aims of alleviating off-season unemployment among the local
stonemasons and creating a museum, art gallery and chapel. Originally, the plan was to
add a 95ft central tower, but work never progressed further than the exterior granite
walls before McCaig died. In his will, McCaig gave instructions for the lancet windows
to be filled with bronze statues of the family, though no such work was ever
undertaken. Instead, the folly has been turned into a sort of walled garden, which is a
popular rendezvous for Oban's youth after dark, but for the rest of the time simply
provides a wonderful seaward panorama, particularly at sunset.
Oban Distillery
Stafford Sreet • Jan, Feb & Dec Mon-Fri 12.30-4pm; March & Nov Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; April Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm; May, June & Oct daily
9.30am-5pm; July-Sept Mon-Fri 9.30am-7.30pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am-5pm • £7.50 • T 01631 572004, W discoveringdistilleries.com
Oban Distillery is one of Scotland's oldest, founded in 1794 by the Stevenson brothers, and
today it produces in excess of a million bottles a year of its lightly peaty malt, which is
acknowledged to be a touch easier on the palette than many other whiskies produced
hereabouts. he excellent forty-five-minute-long guided tours take in the Mash House,
with four massive Scandinavian larch washbacks, and the Still House, with its beautifully
proportioned copper stills. he tours ends, as is the custom, with a generous dram.
War and Peace Exhibition
Corran Esplanade • May-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm; March, April & Nov daily 10am-4pm • Free • T 01631 570007,
W obanmuseum.org.uk
Housed in the old Oban Times building beside the Art Deco Regent Hotel on the
Esplanade, the charming War and Peace Exhibition is stuffed full of local (and not so
local) memorabilia - bizarrely, even a chunk of the Berlin Wall has ended up here.
Overall though, the emphasis is on the wartime role of the area around Oban, when it
operated as a flying-boat base, mustering point for Atlantic convoys, and as a training
 
 
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