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November 24, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum
Scotlands Citys & Towns
Oban
Oban (/ˈoʊbən/ (About this soundlisten) OH-bən; An t-Òban in Scottish Gaelic meaning The Little Bay) is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scot...Scotlands Citys & Towns
Oban
Oban (/ˈoʊbən/ (About this soundlisten) OH-bən; An t-Òban in Scottish Gaelic meaning The Little Bay) is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland.
Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William.
During the tourist season, the town can play host to up to 25,000 people. Oban occupies a setting in the Firth of Lorn.
The bay is a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera; and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. To the north, is the long low island of Lismore, and the mountains of Morvern and Ardgour.
History
The site where Oban now stands has been used by humans since at least mesolithic times, as evidenced by archaeological remains of cave dwellers found in the town.
Just outside the town stands Dunollie Castle, on a site that overlooks the main entrance to the bay and has been fortified since the Bronze age.
Prior to the 19th century, the town itself supported very few households, sustaining only minor fishing, trading, shipbuilding and quarrying industries, and a few hardy tourists.
The Renfrew trading company established a storehouse there in about 1714 as a local outlet for its merchandise, but a Custom-house was not deemed necessary until 1736 when "Oban being reckoned a proper place for clearing out vessels for the herring fishery".
The modern town of Oban grew up around the distillery, which was founded there in 1794. The town was raised to a burgh of barony in 1811 by royal charter.
Sir Walter Scott visited the area in 1814, the year in which he published his poem The Lord of the Isles; interest in the poem brought many new visitors to the town. The town was made a Parliamentary Burgh in 1833.
A rail link - the Callander and Oban Railway - was authorised in 1864 but took years to reach the town. The final stretch of track to Oban opened on 30 June 1880. This brought further prosperity, revitalising local industry and giving new energy to tourism.
Also at this time work on the ill-fated Oban Hydro was commenced but abandoned, and left to fall into disrepair, after 1882 when Dr Orr, the schemes originator, realised he had grossly underestimated its cost.
Work on McCaig's Tower, a prominent local landmark, started in 1895. It was paid for by John Stewart McCaig (1824-1902) and was constructed, in hard times, to give work for local stone masons. However, its construction ceased in 1902 on the death of its benefactor.
During World War II, Oban was used by Merchant and Royal Navy ships and was an important base in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The Royal Navy had a signal station near Ganavan, and an anti-submarine indicator loop station, which detected any surface or submarine vessels between Oban, Mull and Lismore.
There was a controlled minefield in the Sound of Kerrera, which was operated from a building near the caravan site at Gallanach.
There was also a Royal Air Force flying boat base at Ganavan and on Kerrera, and an airfield at North Connel built by the Royal Air Force.
A Sector Operations Room was built near the airfield; after the war, this was extended to become the Royal Observer Corps Group HQ.
Oban was also important during the Cold War because the first Transatlantic Telephone Cable (TAT-1) came ashore at Gallanach Bay.
This carried the Hot Line between the US and USSR presidents. At North Connel, next to the airfield/airport was the NRC (Nuclear Reporting Cell) of the Royal Observer Corps (29 October 1925 to 31 December 1995).
Since the 1950s, the principal industry has remained tourism, though the town is also an important ferry port, acting as the hub for CalMac - Caledonian McBrayne - ferries to many of the islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
Climate
As with the rest of the British Isles, Oban experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters.
The nearest official Met Office weather station for which online records are available is Dunstaffnage, about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north-north east of Oban town centre.
Rainfall is high, but thanks to the Gulf stream the temperature seldom falls below zero Celsius.
Go to Wikipedia for full History
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