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Town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Photo: Bob Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Oban (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òban) is a town in Argyll and Bute on the northwest coast of Scotland. It's a transport hub and most visitors are passing through on the way to the Hebrides, only staying overnight if ferry / train schedules make that necessary; conversely, Hebrideans come here for shopping and other necessities. The main reason to regard Oban as a destination in its own right is for sea sports, including kayaking, scuba-diving, wildlife-watching and fishing. It also has great local sea food. In 2021 the population was 8060.
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John Stuart McCaig (1823-1902), a local banker, was aiming for something like the Colosseum in Rome. At his death only the granite circular shell was complete, resembling a vast salad-drainer with its lancet windows, and dominating the view for miles around. Inside is simply a public garden and picnic spot where the pipe band sometimes plays, and the museum, art gallery and heroic statues of himself and family never happened. You can approach via "Jacob's Ladder", the steps from the Esplanade.
was once as distinctive and hollow a monument on the skyline as McCaig's Tower, but has crumbled behind the engulfing jungle. It was built from 1881 as a spa hotel, but they grossly underestimated the cost, and it was abandoned when almost complete. The shareholders might have persevered if they foresaw what people pay nowadays to be assaulted with green mud.
No, Tolstoy never visited Oban, though the works of Sir Walter Scott were among his influences. This museum describes Oban's role in wartime, and its blossoming in peacetime through tourism.
Cathedral Church of St John the Divine
Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Cathedral hidden among the shops. Building started in 1863 and continued in several phases but lack of funds resulted in the present odd layout, with steel girders propping up unfinished work.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (who designed the iconic red telephone box) and built in Neo-Gothic style between 1932 and 1959. In medieval times the area's senior church was St Moluag's on the Isle of Lismore, nowadays a Church of Scotland parish church. The RC Diocese of Argyll and The Isles was re-established in 1878 but bishop and congregation were in makeshift premises, including a tin hut, until St Columba's was completed.
This 15th-century castle is a crumbling stump; its predecessors over 1000 years were repeatedly destroyed. You can clamber up the stairs within. In the grounds are pleasant gardens (dogs welcome) and a small museum.
Stout, partly ruined castle dating to 13th century, with nearby chapel of similar date. The 16th-century gatehouse is the residence of the hereditary captain - he's still required to stay here three nights a year.
This was a Valliscaulian monastery, an obscure 13th-century sect. There are scrappy remains of the church and High Cross but the main attraction is the gardens.
A well-preserved four-storey tower house on a tidal islet in Loch Linnhe, built from 1440. "Stalker" is from Gaelic Stalcaire, a hunter or falconer - King James IV often used it as a hunting lodge in the 1490s. The castle changed hands several times, often with murder involved (the last such being in Sarawak in 1947), and its last military role was as a government stronghold in the 1745 rebellion. It fell derelict from 1800 but was restored 1965-75. Tours are offered Apr-Sept but need high tide for boat access, the low tide causeway is too rough and slippery — see the castle website for availability. The photogenic site is sometimes a film location, best known is as "Castle Aaarrrrgghh" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. To just admire the exterior, either have a cuppa at Castle Stalker View Cafe to use their car park, or use the free car park a mile north, and pick up the coast footpath.
Gardens and woodlands in the care of National Trust for Scotland, a riot of rhododendrons in early summer.
Kayak outfitter leads daily tours and also multi-day trips and courses. You can paddle right out of the harbour or rent a trolley and take your kayak on the ferries.
Mundane surroundings but this one gets the vote for quality of food and service. Restaurant upstairs, bar food downstairs.
Stylish building, upstairs bar and downstairs restaurant for Scottish fare.
Seafood restaurant, decent food but pricey for the quality and portion size, you're paying for the view. Service can be very slow.
Reliable place for Indian food.
Reliable JD Wetherspoon, named for the whirlpool off Jura, with good-value ale and food.
Cosy pub with food, dog-friendly, sometimes has live music.
Dog-friendly, does good seafood.
Friendly traditional pub, dogs welcome. Bar lunches 12:00-14:30.
Friendly quirky place on two floors in a Georgian building by North Pier.
Scotch whisky distillery founded in 1794 (pre-dating the town), but in and out of production, with the present run from 1972. It's now part of Diageo and produces a single malt intermediate between the smoky Hebridean style and the sweeter mainland malts. Frequent tours.
Open Apr-Sept. Pitches for tourers, static caravan hire, camping pods plus tent sites. Well run site with great views.
Open Mar-Oct. Plus bunkhouse, bothy and camping pod. No on site cafe or bar.
Hostel open Mar-Oct with 6, 8, 10 & 12 bedded dorms. No private rooms, so families with children must block-book a dorm. Clean, friendly and cosy, but they lock you out between noon and 5PM no matter what the weather.
Hostel open all year, dog-friendly. 4-, 6- and 8-bed dorms plus private rooms in a large Victorian building on the Esplanade.
Open all year, has private guest rooms (but no singles) plus dorms in main building, more private rooms in Ayres Guest House alongside. Markie Dan's Bar downstairs plays loud music until late at night. In 2023 the dorms are only available for block booking.
Friendly well-run guest house with rooms en suite. Room only, you take breakfast at the Scot Hotel.
Open Apr-Sep, small bunkhouse (sleeps 7) on the island of Kerrara that shelters Oban harbour; also bell tent. Take ferry from Gallanach 1.5 miles south of Oban (foot passengers only, last ferry at 6PM), this brings you midway along Kerrara then it's a 50-min hike to the bunkhouse near the south tip. They can pick you up from the landing pier.
Woodcroft
A shepherd's hut on a croft 15 minutes drive (7 miles) from the centre of Oban. Sleeps 2.
Reliable comfy chain hotel just where you need it.
Clean, friendly guesthouse with five doubles, one twin room, and one very small single. Self check in and no cooked breakfast. No children under 11 or dogs. Up a steep hill, take a taxi if you're on foot and heavily laden.
Midrange modern hotel, some rooms dog-friendly, great scores for service.
Now a Best Western, clean and well-run. It's often booked out by tour groups.
Simple hotel on the North Pier, so rooms on three sides have sea views, those at the back can be noisy from the pubs below.
Upscale hotel with views of the sea.
Self-catering in 15 two-bedroom lodges and 4 one-bedroom chalets (let Saturday-Saturday), plus Cruachan Cottage and Cologin Farmhouse (let Friday-Friday). Shorter lets available off season. Dogs welcome in some rooms. With on site bar serving pub food.
Small 4-star hotel in a Georgian building, good restaurant.
Excellent little hotel next to ferry pier for Lismore Point, great restaurant.
Friendly, comfy hotel with great sea views, fronting onto Arduaine Garden. Rooms in the main house are good, those in the new annexe have poor sound-proofing. Dogs welcome.
By train
Trains from Glasgow Queen Street run up the West Highland Line, taking 3 hours 10 min to Oban via Dumbarton Central, Helensburgh Upper and Crianlarich (where a portion divides for Fort William and…
By bus
By bus: Citylink 975 / 976 / 977 runs six times a day from Glasgow Buchanan station, either via Arrochar, Inveraray and Taynuilt, or via Crianlarich, Tyndrum and Taynuilt, taking 3 hr 10 min to Oban.
By road
From Glasgow follow A82 north to Crianlarich then A85 west to Oban, 100 miles, say 2 hr 30 min as it's a busy undivided highway.
By boat
Oban Ferry Terminal is the port for Calmac car ferries to Lismore, Mull, Coll, Tiree, Colonsay and Barra. There's also a weekly ferry to Islay, but you're better sailing via Kennacraig.
Most sights in town can be reached on foot, but some accommodation is up a fairly steep hill.
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