Argyll - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 63

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 95-foot 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.

1

Oban Distillery
Stafford St • 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 discovering-distilleries.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. The excellent forty-five-minute-long guided tours take in the
Mash House, holding four massive Scandinavian larch washbacks, and the Still House,
with its beautifully proportioned copper stills. The tour 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, 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 training centre for the
D-Day landings. Also on display are bits of cargo (including a ladder) washed ashore
from the Dutch cargo steamer, the Breda , which was attacked in nearby Ardmucknish
Bay in 1940. It's now a popular dive wreck.

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION OBAN

By plane Six miles north of town, tiny Oban Airport in
North Connel ( T 0845 805 7465, W hebrideanair.co.uk)
has flights to Coll, Tiree, Islay and Colonsay; the nearest
train station to the airport is Connel Ferry, or take bus #405
from Oban to Barcaldine.
Destinations Coll (Mon & Wed 2-3 daily, Sat & Sun 1 daily;
30min); Colonsay (Tues & Thurs 2 daily, Sat & Sun 1 daily;
30min); Islay (Tues & Thurs 2 daily; 40min); Tiree (Mon &
Wed 2 daily; 1hr).
By train The station is on Railway Pier.
Destinations Glasgow, Queen St (3 daily; 3hr 10min).
By bus The bus station is on Station Rd, adjacent to the
train station.
Destinations Appin (Mon-Sat 2-3 daily; 30min); Connel
(Mon-Sat hourly; 10-15min); Fort William (Mon-Sat

4 daily; 1hr 30min); Glasgow (4 daily; 3hr); Inveraray
(4 daily; 1hr 10min); Kilmartin (Mon-Fri 4 daily, Sat 2 daily;
1hr 15min).
By ferry The CalMac terminal ( T 01631 566688,
W calmac.co.uk) is on Railway Pier, close to both the train
and bus stations.
Destinations Oban-Coll (daily except Wed & Fri; 2hr
40min); Oban-Colonsay (daily except Tues & Sat; 2hr
15min); Oban-Craignure on Mull (daily every 2hr; 45min);
Oban-Achnacroish on Lismore (Mon-Sat 4-5 daily, Sun
2 daily; 50min); Oban-Tiree (1 daily; 3hr 40min).
By car Arriving in Oban by car can be a bit of a nightmare
in the summer, when tra c chokes the main drag. If you're
heading straight for the ferry, make sure you leave an extra
hour to allow for sitting in the tailbacks.