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Oban - Gateway to the highlands

Author Holiday West Highland |

ALTHOUGH famous as a holiday resort, with visitors returning year aft er year, the West Highlands’ main town of Oban is also an important ferry port and the major retail and administration point for surrounding communities. It offers everything for the holidaymaker, with its shops, its ‘bonnie bay’, plenty of entertainment and activities and stunning views. One of the first things to greet you will be the plaintive cries of the seagulls which float in the air above the bay. Queen Victoria loved Oban (Gaelic for ‘little bay’), deeming it ‘one of the finest towns we have seen’ and since the early 19th century the town has proved a popular holiday destination for Glasgow’s Merchant City folk keen to take in the fresh sea air and recharge their batteries.

They came by steamship in those days and a fine sight these vessels must have been steaming into the bay. Today it is easy to reach Oban by car, coach and train, making it a popular visitor destination, but it also serves an important role as the main town for its extensive hinterland, with its court, police station, auction mart and regional council headquarters. It also has a fishing fleet and important port facilities for such things as lighthouses, coastguard operations and fisheries.

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