Oban, 12-14 September
We all had an early start as the three crew members who disembarked before 6am didn’t do so quietly! That left five crew for the last short leg to Oban. It wasn’t worth hoisting sails for this short distance. The entrance to the harbour at Oban was quite difficult to negotiate particularly with the exit of a large ferry, obliging us to move aside.
The mooring wasn’t however difficult. Three more crew members had to disembark pretty smartly, to catch the train to Glasgow. We, however, took our time to gather together our belongings, as we had two nights booked in The Columba, a once grand but old fashioned hotel on the waterfront, just by the pontoon marina.
Our skipper was pleased to receive our unwanted bedlinen, as they make great rags for the engine! Peter had hoped to lighten our load for our travel homewards, but Lynne managed to replace the weight with some shopping in Oban.
We were looking forward to donning some dry clothes, luxuriating in a warm room with a solid, non-moving double bed and en-suite, and stop the feeling of reeling when on our feet! It rained almost solidly from disembarkation until we boarded the train from Glasgow to London two days later. This didn’t necessarily curtail our activities, but dry clothes became a pipe dream, and we spent far too long in establishments serving hot drinks, cakes and pastries! We even ended up in the ferry terminal on a couple of occasions to avoid the rain, when we couldn’t face another coffee shop!
Highlights of our stay in Oban comprised a walk along the sea, Dunollie Castle, the climb to McCaig’s monument, a tour of the Oban distillery and some great food.
From the ruins of Dunollie Castle, we gained a splendid view of the approaches by sea and land to the area and heard gory stories of the history of the MacDougalls. We enjoyed the walk along the coast, then past the Dog Stone (according to legend, where Fingal chained his huge dog when away travelling), on the way to the Castle and its delightful museum and grounds.
Coffee in the rain Rain Shelter Fighting Castle Period Kitchen Oban Bay Hellooo!
On the way back, we struck out on a high path through the woods, with great views of the sea and conveniently found the back way to Oban.
The climb to McCaig’s Tower and Battery, an extraordinary circular folly constructed prominently above Oban, involved the 144 steps of the Jacob’s Ladder behind Oban Distillery. We needed the exercise, and chose to climb them a second time the following day.
McCaig’s Tower
We had to wait until Sunday morning for a tour of the Oban Distillery which we enjoyed, with its introduction to the processes of making whisky, enlivened by our guide, Campbell, who incidentally had also featured in the historical film we’d watched at Dunollie Museum.
On our first evening ashore in Oban, we successfully sought a restaurant, Oban Brasserie, which would supply something with red meat after so many meat-free meals aboard ship. We also ate well at a highly recommended fish restaurant, with the strange name EE-USK, where Peter raved about the Scottish cheese board. He also enjoyed his fish.
We had a great room on the top floor with a tower and view over the bay, in the hotel, with seagulls paying us visits on the window ledges outside. We were able to dry all our clothes sufficiently for the journey back home.
But the unusual shape of the room contributed to the feeling we both experienced of the bed rocking all night and that had nothing to do with the wine we had enjoyed during the evening. And as for the feeling of reeling as we walked, that continued for a couple of days!
We had been looking forward to the beautiful scenery as the train passed by the lochs and hills on its way to Glasgow but were disappointed as it was cold, raining and pretty dark all the way. We walked through the drizzle from Glasgow Queens Station to Glasgow Central Station, disappointed that we’d spent so long in damp, wet or downright soaking conditions since our arrival in Oban.
Our spirits were lifted when Peter found a great restaurant, Alston Bar and Beef, in the undercroft, right inside the station. We enjoy excellent food, great wine, and having all our luggage under supervision, until we had to board our overnight sleeper to London.
Did you try the Oban 14 year old at the distillery?
Not only did we have a nice taste of the Oban 14, but I even bought a bottle in duty free on the way back to France!
We’ll do a nice tasting with Bernard and Bernadette using the lovely Oban tasting glasses we were given at the distillery.