Oban (pronounced OH-bin) is a low-key resort. Its winding promenade is lined by gravel beaches, ice-cream stands, fish-and-chips joints, a glorious distillery, and a good choice of restaurants.
Everything in Oban is close together, and the town seems eager to please its many visitors: Wool and tweed are perpetually on sale, and posters announce a variety of day tours to Scotland’s wild and wildlife strewn western island.
Jackie and I arrived later in the afternoon, and we are only spending one night in Oban. I generally don’t like one night stops anywhere… to unpack only to pack back up the next day… yuk. But Oban is a jewel in its rugged “am I in Maine?” way. And their was a hoped for great meal in front of us. So we settled for a wander up and down the promenade to take in the sights after any tourists had left for the day.
When the rain clears (we had sprinkles most of our evening), sun-starved Scots sit on benches along the Esplanade, leaning back to catch some rays. Wind, boats, gulls, layers of islands, and the promise of a wide-open Atlantic beyond give Oban a rugged charm.
With only about 10,000 residents, Oban is where the train system of Scotland meets the ferry system serving the Hebrides Islands. As “gateway to the isles,” its center is not a square or market… but its harbor.
We went out to the end of the North Pier (where we would soon eat), and found a bench to take in the city view and shoot a quick video. The bagpiper was a bonus. 🙂
Looking back at Oban from left to right, we first see a mix of Grand Victorian sandstone buildings and humbler modern storefronts. At the far right is the ferry terminal – with a steady flow of huge ferrys loading or unloading. Oban has always been on the way to somewhere, and today is no different.
The towns landscape seems dominated by Caledonian-MacBrayne, Scotland’s biggest ferry company. Their ships serve over 20 destinations and transport over 4 million passengers a year. Oban has long been the lifeline to the islands.
The train station hides next to the ferry station. With the arrival of the train in 1880, Oban became the unofficial capital of Scotland’s west coast and a destination for tourists. Across the road is the former Caledonian Hotel, the original terminus hotel, and now the Perle Oban Hotel. It’s where Jackie and I are staying… but more on that in another post. 🙂
Tourism aside, herring was the first big industry. A few boats still fish commercially – you can see them tucked around the ferry terminal. As the ocean’s supply of fish has become depleted, most local fish is farmed. But there’s still plenty of shellfish.
After fishing, big industries here historically included tobacco (imported from us Yanks), then whisky. To the left, it is not hard to find the Oban Distillery. It’s rare to find a distillery in the middle of a town, but Oban grew up around this one. And with the success of its whisky, the town enjoyed an invigorating confidence, optimism, and, in 1811, a royal charter. Touring Oban’s distillery is the best activity in Oban. Because of the later hour, we missed it this time – but I thoroughly enjoyed the tour I took in August… and still enjoy a wee sip of the nectar on occasion… the 14-year old is heaven.
Above the distillery, you can’t miss the odd mini-Colosseum. This is McCaig’s Tower, an employ-the-workers-and-build-me-a-fine-memorial project undertaken by an Oban tycoon in 1900. McCaig died before completing the structure, so his complete vision for it remains a mystery. This is an example of a “folly” – that uniquely British notion of an idiosyncratic structure erected by a colorful aristocrat. Building a folly was an in-your-face kind of extravagance many extremely wealthy people enjoyed even when surrounded by struggling working-class people.
But it is the sea that continually grabs our attention. At the height of the Cold War, Oban played a critical role when the world’s first two-way transatlantic telephone cable was laid from Gallanach Bay to Newfoundland in 1956 – a milestone in global communication. This technology later provided the White House and the Kremlin with the “hotline” that was created after the Cuban Missile Crisis to avoid a nuclear conflagration.
