Scottish anchorages

Firth of Lorne

There are no decent pubs, at least where you can get good draft beer in comfortable and quiet surroundings without feeling threatened - Oban really does need to do something about this. The Oban Bay Brewery is at the back of the Cuan Mor restaurant and bar overlooking the bay, which is where you can get Oban beer on draft (it is more of a restaurant than what I would call a proper pub).

I used to food and booze shop mostly in Tescos which made me feel guilty, these days I go to the very good Coop, there is an excellent butcher, a fishmonger on the pier, and the Outside edge for outdoor stuff. And there is a pet shop, photographic shops, hardware, ironmongery, clothes shops and so on.

You can walk to the ivy covered, atmospheric and rather spooky ruin of Dunollie castle on a 7th Century site, just at the entrance to the bay. Most of the ruin dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. It was abandoned in the 18th century. There are now in 2012 plans to stabilise it before it falls down, but without disturbing the European cave spiders which apparently live there. There are good views over the bay. Just opened in November 2011 is the museum in Dunollie House, and I must visit soon.

On the way there you take in the Corran Esplanade with all its hotels and the truly architecturally awful Corran Halls. St Columba's Catholic Cathedral is a bit of a landmark but hardly worth a look inside (very austere and a lot of granite, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott design from the 1930s). Further on past various stray bits of volcanic lava plug, past posh looking 20th century villas with cannons guarding the front door of one, is Ganavan Bay and the town beach.