Oban A Cathedral of St Columba A McCaig’s Folly A Dunollie Castle E Armaddy Castle Garden A Oban War & Peace Museum E Oban Rare Breeds Farm Park E Oban Zoological World I Puffin Dive Centre Seeing Oban nowadays, it is hard to imagine that in the 18th century this bustling holiday resort was no more than a village, with only a handful of cottages built round a small bay. It received its original burgh charter in 1811, but even then it was an unimportant place. With the coming of the railway in 1880,
the town blossomed as people discovered its charms. Grand Victorian and Edwardian villas were built by prosperous Glasgow merchants, and local people began to open hotels, guest houses and B&Bs. Now it is the capital of the Western Highlands, and known as the ‘Gateway to the Western Isles’. It has two cathedrals, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Columba, built in 1930 of granite and the town’s largest church, and the Episcopalian Cathedral Church of St John the Divine in George Street, built in the 19th century but never fully completed. Dominating the town is McCaig’s Folly, a vast coliseum of a building that was begun in 1897. To call it a folly is a misnomer,
because the man who built it, Oban banker John Stuart McCaig, wanted to establish a museum and art gallery inside it, but he died before it was completed. As the town had a lot of unemployed people at the time, he also wanted to create work for them. In his will he left money for a series of large statues of himself and his family to be erected around the parapet, but this never happened. The oldest building in Oban is Dunollie Castle, the ruins of which can be seen on the northern outskirts of the town beyond the Corran Esplanade. It was built on a site that has been fortified since the Dark Ages, and was a MacDougall stronghold. It was finally abandoned as a dwelling house in the early 1700s, when a new McDougall mansion was built.
It soon became a quarry for the people of the area. North of the ruins, near the beach at Ganavan, is the Clach a’ Choin, or Dog’s Stone, where, legend has it, the giant Fingal tied up his dog Bran. The groove at the base is supposed to be where the leash wore away the stone. Armaddy Castle Garden, eight miles south of Oban off the B844 road for Seil Island, is another of the local gardens that benefit from the area’s mild climate. The pier is where most of the ferries leave for the Western Isles. From here you can sail for Lismore, Mull, Coll, Tiree, Colonsay, Barra and South Uist,
and one of the joys of Oban is sitting on the pier watching the graceful ferries entering and leaving Oban Bay. The Oban Distillery in Stafford Street produces a whisky that is one of the six ‘classic malts’ of Scotland, and offers tours showing the distillery at work. This is one of the smallest distilleries in the country, with just two pot stills. The whisky is a lightly peated malt, and the tour includes a free dram. On the Corran Esplanade is the Oban War and Peace Museum, which has photographs and military memorabilia. There is also a model of a flying boat with a 14-feet wingspan. The Oban Rare Breeds Farm Park at Glencruitten has,
in addition to rare breeds, a pets corner, a woodland walk, tearoom and shop. And at Upper Soroba is the Oban Zoological World, a small family-run zoo specialising in small mammals and reptiles. The Puffin Dive Centre at Port Gallanach is an award-winning activity centre where you can learn to scuba dive in some remarkably clear water. Around Oban CONNEL BRIDGE 4 miles NE of Oban off the A828 D Falls of Lora Connel Bridge is a one-time railway bridge that now carries the A828 over the entrance to Loch Etive. The entrance to this sea loch is very shallow, and when the tide ebbs,
the water pours out of the loch into the Firth of Lorne over the Falls of Lora. DUNSTAFFNAGE 3 miles N of Oban off the A85 A Dunstaffnage Castle F Ell Maid A Dunstaffnage Chapel On a promontory sticking out into Ardmuchnish Bay, in the Firth of Lorne, is the substantial Dunstaffnage Castle (Historic Scotland). Seen from the east, it has a glorious setting, with the island of Lismore and the hills of Morvern behind it. And the setting is not just beautiful.
This must be one of the most strategic places in Argyll as far as sea travel is concerned, as many important sea routes converge here. The castle was originally built in the 13th century by either Ewan or Duncan MacDougall, Lords of Lorne, on the site of a Dalriadan royal fort and settlement, though the castle as seen today dates from all periods up to the 19th century. In 1309, the castle fell into the hands of Robert the Bruce, and he gave it to the Stewarts. In 1470, Colin Campbell, the first Earl of Argyll, was created hereditary captain, or keeper of Dunstaffnage.
In 1363 a dark deed was carried out here. The then Stewart owner was set upon outside the castle and murdered by a troop of MacDougalls, who still considered the castle theirs. The troop then attacked the castle and it fell into their hands once more. A few months later a force of men sent by David II, Robert the Bruce’s son, retook it. In 1746, Flora MacDonald was held captive here for a short while. The castle’s resident ghost is called the Ell Maid, and sometimes on stormy nights she can be heard wandering through the ruins, her footsteps clanging off the stone as if shod in iron. If she is heard laughing, it means that there will be good news for the castle. If she shrieks and sobs,
it means the opposite. Dunstaffnage Chapel stands outside the castle and also dates from the 13th century. It is unusual in that chapels were usually within the defensive walls of a castle. A small burial aisle, built in 1740 for the Campbells of Dunstaffnage, forms an eastern extension. BARCALDINE 10 miles N of Oban on the A828 E Scottish Sealife Sanctuary A Barcaldine Castle The Scottish Sealife Sanctuary is Scotland’s leading marine animal rescue centre, and it looks after dozens of injured or orphaned seal pups before returning them back into the wild.
The sanctuary is set within a mature spruce forest on the shores of beautiful Loch Creran and is home to some of the UK’s most enchanting marine creatures. In crystal clear waters you can explore more than 30 fascinating natural marine habitats containing everything from octopus to sharks. Every day there is a range of talks and feeding demonstrations from the team of marine experts. Barcaldine Castle has associations with the Appin murder and the Massacre of Glencoe.
There are secret passages and a bottle dungeon, and the castle is said to be haunted by a Blue Lady. Though not open to the public, it offers B&B accommodation. Tralee Beach is one of the best beaches in the area. It lies off the unmarked road to South Shian and Eriska ARDCHATTAN 8 miles NE of Oban on a minor road on the north shore of Loch Etive A Ardchattan Priory E Ardchattan Priory Garden Ardchattan Priory (Historic Scotland) was built in about 1230 by Duncan McDougall, Lord of Lorne, for the Valliscaulian order of monks.
The ruins of the church can still be seen, though the rest of the priory, including the nave and cloisters, was incorporated into Ardchattan House in the 17th century by John Campbell, who took over the priory at the Reformation. There are some old grave slabs that mark McDougall graves. Ardchattan Priory Garden is open to the public, and has herbaceous borders, roses, a rockery and a wild flower meadow