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Home to the Distillery with the same name, Oban is a small town in the Argyll and Bute region of Scotland. You can get there by train, bus or car and it's worth spending at least a few days to enjoy everything it has to offer.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Oban whisky for a few years now, and since I'm m̶i̶l̶d̶l̶y̶ o̶b̶s̶e̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ passionate about whisky and a big fan of Scottish landscapes, I decided to pay a visit to the distillery and it's surroundings.
1. Oban Distillery
Before I tell you how great the distillery tour was and how I would love to go back there again, I have to stress the importance of booking the tour in advance if you don't want to be bitterly disappointed. The distillery is open daily from 10:15 am to 5 pm. A standard tour ticket costs £22 per person.
Oban Distillery is one of the oldest in Scotland. It's been around since 1794 and since then they have been using the same distillation process. Consider me a fan.
The tour started the best way possible - with a small dram. After that, we got to see the stages of whisky making and/or the equipment used, with the tour ending with another sample and me trying to keep myself from buying every bottle in sight.
Mike, our wonderful tour guide was fantastically knowledgeable and friendly and made the whole tour experience highly enjoyable. I highly recommend this tour as well as Oban Whiskies.
2. Dunollie Castle
Dunollie Castle is a 25-minute walk from Oban Distillery. An entry ticket (£9 for adults and £4.5 for children) gives you access to the Castle Ruins, the 1745 House Museum, and the Historic Woodland Grounds. The Grounds and the Ruins are open to the public from the 1st of April to the 27th of October, Sunday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.
From the ticket booth As you walk towards the Museum, on the left side you will find a small room with benches and chairs where a video explaining The MacDougall Clan's history plays on a loop. I highly recommend it before you see anything else.
After that, walking up to the Castle Ruins takes a few minutes and it gives you a panoramic view of Oban and the nearby islands.
Exploring everything takes around 2, 2.5 hours, or a bit longer if you're planning to have lunch at the little cafe next to the Museum.
3. McCaig's Tower
A 10-minute, quite uphill walk from the Distillery you can find McCaig's Tower. Built by John Stuart McCaig, a local banker, the tower was built between 1897 and 1902. As with Dunollie Castle, reaching the tower will give you some fantastic views of Oban.
To walk leisurely around the whole area as well as enjoying the views takes about 30 minutes. As far as I could see there were no shops, toilets or visitor centres around, you just walk at your own pace.
While you're in Oban I highly recommend a Day Trip to the Isle of Mull and Tobermory Distillery.
Have you ever been to Oban or the Isle of Mull? If so, please let me know how it went, in the comments below.
I hope life is treating you well.
Take care.