Most travelers will looks at Oban, Scotland, and think that it’s a great stop on a whisky tour, particularly for one of the oldest whisky distilleries. And it is. The Oban Distillery is world renowned and offers tours, if you book far enough in advance to get a spot on one of the tours. For those who miss out on the distillery tour, there’s enough in the town to keep you busy along the way to nearby islands or towns.
After spending my first two nights with friends in Glasgow, I took an early afternoon train northwest to spend the night in Oban before heading to the Isle of Mull for a full-day nature tour the following morning. There weren’t many options for trains between destinations, making planning ahead more important; the train also takes almost three and a half hours, which is why more people drive. The train arrived too late for a tour of the distillery — I also discovered that these tours have limited space and have become so popular that travelers need to reserve tickets months in advance.
I booked the Royal Hotel for convenience — it’s a short walk from the train station and ferry terminal. It wasn’t anything special as the name may suggest, but it was clean and comfortable enough for a night. They also held my suitcase the next day as I stayed overnight on the Isle of Mull following my full-day nature tour.
Particularly in the off season, there isn’t that much in the center of town — there weren’t a lot of restaurants or pubs in Oban, which makes sense in a small town. But the places that were open had ample space without a reservation (I wouldn’t expect that in high tourist season). Downtown Oban reminded me of a smaller version of London with its architecture; it’s beautiful to walk through. The weather was great while I was there — I hadn’t expected so much sun for a week in Scotland.
The Tourist Highlight of Oban
As I didn’t have much else to do with the Oban Distillery closed, I wandered the quaint center of town and headed for the other tourist attraction: McCraig’s Tower.
It’s a steep climb up the steps, known as Jacob’s Ladder, and roads to reach McCraig’s Tower overlooking Oban. And on such a warm and sunny afternoon, plenty of people were doing the same. The tower was built in 1897 as a monument to the McCraig family. It is also referred to as McCraig’s Folly as it was never completed; John Stuart McCraig intended the site to include a museum and art gallery, but only the outer wall was completed at the time of his death. It now serves a wonderful public park.
It’s not much of sight itself, but it provides amazing views of the harbor and town, as well as islands in the distance. I was fortunate with beautiful weather, although sweaty and blinded by the spring sunshine. I would have been tempted to stay longer if I had found a quiet spot in the shade, but it was getting late and I wanted dinner before the best spot in town closed for the day.
I took a different route back down the hill into town — I wanted to have a different angle and avoid the people still climbing the steps up to the tower. Also, sloping downhill streets with light traffic makes for a pleasant walk.
When it comes to food after walking up all those stairs and hills to McCraig’s Tower, it’s a good idea to head back to the Oban ferry terminal for some seafood. And the best seafood is at the Oban Seafood Hut (though that’s not what the sign says). You can recognize it by the green sign and crowd of happy customers — it is the most recommended restaurant in town. My greatest regret was not ordering the mussels special — I thought for the price that it’d be a small amount, but it was a huge pot of mussels for only £6.
Instead of that huge pot of mussels, I ordered a serving of scallops with bread — I was told scallops in Scotland were worth getting. I had wanted to try langoustines, but they were sold out. I also found out that this lovely little food vendor was cash only, forcing me to find an ATM for the first time in months. The staff was kind enough to take my order while I walked down the street to the ATM, so my scallops were ready by the time I returned. I enjoyed the freshest scallops of my life standing at a narrow table next to a couple that had ordered an impressive seafood feast (I wish I could pack an extra stomach on some of these trips).
As I was departing on the first ferry of the morning, I headed to Tesco to pick up some breakfast food and snacks for the Nature Conservancy tour. I wasn’t sure what lunch would be provided on the tour, so a bit of fruit and granola bars was a good choice. It was also helpful to have some food the following morning as the fancier hotel in Craignure didn’t provide breakfast.
I arrived back in Oban before dinner after a day of going around the Isle of Mull on my own. As there wasn’t much else to see around town, I only felt the need to wander the quaint streets and check out some pubs and restaurants. I spent time walking around town in search of an interesting dinner as I arrived back too late for the seafood shack again.
I found a sleek pub with outdoor seating on the main road along Oban Bay. Cuan Mor is a highly recommended restaurant in Oban, and the menu is worth a stop. It seems like the food is a mishmash of elevated pub fare, with some South Asian and American influence (I’ve never considered barbecue from Chicago). As I wanted something that I wouldn’t likely get at other restaurants, I ordered the venison lasagna.
I was skeptical ordering lasagna in Scotland, but it was a good choice. It was local venison and Arran cheddar cheese sauce. It was creamy and flavorful. Possibly a more filling meal than I needed considering I wasn’t walking nearly as much as previous days, but it was worth the adventure for only £13 (pretty much a bargain for someone traveling from the NYC area).
The pubs weren’t an exciting stop, most likely because it was a Tuesday. The Lorne, a little ways from the busier streets, would be a great pub with a larger crowd — it has a quaint old-style pub feel with a comfortable outdoor area.
But There Was Whisky
Yes, I still imbibed in my share of whisky in Oban. Just around the corner from the Oban Distillery is the Whisky Vault, which may be a better option for sampling. While there is no tour at the Whisky Vault, there is an enormous selection of Scotch whisky — they have a bottle from almost every distillery that exists in Scotland. They even have a larger selection of Oban whiskies than the Oban Distillery because they hold on to the limited bottles.
There’s even a hotel attached to the bar, which means there are more tourists hanging out. I would’ve liked to stay there if it had been in my budget. The courtyard at the bar is a wonderful place to enjoy a dram on a pleasant day — it was even nice under the canopy while it rained a bit on my trip back through town. Bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable about everything on offer. I spent a lot of time talking with them to decide what to order based on price and taste.
Surprisingly, I didn’t come across any other whisky-focused pubs in town. I did try some local beer at The Lorne and Oban Inn. Beer was a nice change from all the whisky I tried, plus it was refreshing on those long warm days (the sun didn’t set until around 10 pm). Of course, it was midweek, so few locals were out to enjoy an evening drink.
On that second evening in town, I was able to enjoy a bit more time outside as I didn’t need to catch a 6 am ferry or other transportation. After a bit of rain, the sky cleared and provided a beautiful sunset at about 10 pm as I walked up the hill to my guesthouse. I stopped alongside another traveler admiring the colors of the evening sky above the bay.
While Oban is a pleasant, picturesque Scottish town, there isn’t much to do after a day there. I would certainly use it as a convenient stop on the way to islands beyond Mull.
