Welcome To Oban

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Loch Lubnaig on the way to Oban

When Regis suggested we spend a week in Oban after the narrowboat adventure, I did some internet research on the town and then I found an author, Peter May who wrote mystery novels about the area. After reading one, I had my concerns. His descriptions of the area was quite simple; COLD and RAINY. This did not significantly deter Regis however as she was focusing on the “Quaint” and the “Picturesque” aspect of the town, and said it can’t really be that bad. As well, we had both friends and relatives who had visited and loved the town.

Getting up early to leave Edinburgh prior to rush-hour traffic got us out of the big city and on our way to Oban. The first half of the trip was on “M” series highways, the “M” standing for “Motorway” which refers to their “Interstate” level highways which are divided and multi-lane with according to the big M/B and BMW passing me, seemingly no speed limit. Then about half way there we had to switch to an “A” level road. Now “A” level might lead you to think this was a pretty good highway. After all it is the main road into Oban from Glasgow and Edinburgh. Ok, think of the narrowest windiest road in Canada or the US . . . . this road was narrower. There were signs warning me that “Oncoming Vehicles may be in the middle of the road”, and when the big 18 wheelers met on some corners one of them had to come to a complete stop inches from the stone walls to allow the other to squeeze by.

The view from the apartment

On the plus side, the weather was lovely, with a day finally with no “Scotch Mist” and lots of bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures. We stopped at a couple of the Scottish famous lochs to take pictures. All together it turned out to be a pleasant drive with amazing scenery.

Looking out to sea from the window

Arriving at Oban we were greeted by exactly what was advertised; a quaint seaside town on the western coast of Scotland. No parking issues here, I found a spot right across from the apartment against the seawall to unpack the luggage, and then moved the car to a free spot a couple of blocks away. The apartment was everything advertised, large, airy, and right on the waterfront with amazing views out across the harbour to the islands beyond.

Then it started to rain, a gentle drizzle as we went for supper groceries, increasing to a steady rain walking back, and then working up to a windy, violent downpour that obliterated the view of the off-shore islands by evening. Welcome to Oban.