Oban Gateway To The Western Isles

Robin Glover visits Western Argyll, portal to the wild Hebridean isles of Colonsay, Coll, Tiree, Barra and South Uist, and stepping-stone to Mull. Oban is a magnet for holiday-makers and lovers of fine seafood.

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THE HARBOURSIDE AT OBAN is abuzz with activity, whether locals going about their business in a thriving seaside town or tourists revelling in the relaxed atmosphere and the balmy micro-climate. The many hotels, pubs, cafes and shops bear witness to the confident local economy and the town’s railway station delivers its passengers direct to the central quayside. Amid the bustle, on land, and the flow of fishing-boats, there is the periodic appearance of the marvellous Caledonian Macbrayne (‘Calmac’) ferries, an invaluable service conveying vehicles and passengers around and across the many, splendid lochs, sounds and firths of the west coast (calmac.co.uk). Our crossing to majestic Mull was calmly uneventful and a short drive leads to the spiritual island of Iona, site of a religious settlement si