Oban (pronounced almost like "Auburn") is a small seaside community 100km-or-so north-west of Glasgow. It grew up around a whisky distillery (a good start), but nowadays its main industry seems to be tourism, especially cruises to the local islands, including Islay and Mull. We went there primarily to take the train from Glasgow, the West Coast Line, rated as one of the top railway journeys in the world (possibly only by the local Glasgow media). The train trip was quite scenic, ploughing through the forest alongside Loch Lomond among other things, but I suspect that the really spectacular trip is the branch that we didn't take (up to Fort William and Mallaig). Anyway, we had a nice day in Oban, even if Helen did get stung by a bee.
A couple of interesting features in/near Oban: a fish-and-chip shop that claims to make the best fish-and-chips in the UK as voted by Rick Stein (sure ... sure). McCaig's Tower, a large ring-shaped structure on a hill above the town (in some photos below), which McCaig built with the intention of putting statues of himself and all of his family up there as a permanent memorial (of himself). Nearby is Connel where the waters from Loch Etive meet the sea and form a water-on-water waterfall, which sounds nice but looks like a big set of rapids.
Oban waterfront (main street, with McCaig's Tower on hill)
Hotel on Oban waterfront
Back bar in restaurant where we had lunch (note pun on word "bar")
Spectacular loo, just off the Brewery Bar
B&B's on Oban waterfront
Connel bridge, above water-on-water waterfall
Bay between Oban and Connel
