Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

and;—OBANthe soutliern horn, completely guards the bay, and makesit a ti'anquil and spacious haven, entered only bychannels on the N and S. The southern entrance,called Kerrera Sound, bends so far inward from the bayas to become lost to view ; while the northern entrance,though all seen from the town, appears to be blockedup by the island of Lismore, 5 miles off ; so that thebay and adjoining channels have all the appearance of aland-locked lake. Its shores are chiefly low and gravelly,although immediately behind the town the ground risesinto a protecting row of heights overhanging the town.On the N and E side especially the cliffs are bold, andare picturesquely covered with pine trees and ivy, whilea grey conglomerate cliff stands at the southern promontoryof the bay. The view commanded from theheights behind Oban, on which many houses and villashave been built, is extensive and magnificent. To theS is the Sound of Kerrera ; westward, beyond Kerrera,rise the mountains of Mull ; while away beyond Lismoreto the NW, and past the entrance to the Sound of Mull,tower the peaks of misty Morven : still further NE liesGlencoe with its dark mountains, seen across the Braesof Appin ; while nearly due E Ben Cruachan lifts itsdouble peaks. Situated thus, in the midst of suchromantic scenery, Oban is surrounded with places ofinterest, and has become the headquarters of all whodesire to visit the West Highlands. Its natural situation,its accessibility, and its safe and commodious bayhave splendidly fitted it to become the capital of theWest Highlands and 'the Charing Cross of the Hebrides.'Oban is the focus of steam communication, b}' land andsea, between the south and the north western parts of Scotland.It is the terminus of an important railway line,affording direct communication with Edinburgh andGlasgow ; it is the final point of the so-called ' royalroute ' from Glasgow nd the Crinan Canal, carried on inthe splendid steamers Columha and lona ; it is an importantport of call for the larger steamers Claymoreand Clansman, after they have rounded the Mull ' ' ofKintyre on their voyage from Glasgow to Stornoway ;it is the starting place for numerous steamer-routesthroughout all the western coast and islands, and forcoach-journeys to numberless places and points ofinterest on the mainland;it is the headquarters ofthe Royal Highland Yacht Club. These facts giveOban its character. During the winter the town isquiet and dull, but by the end of June it awakens to ahurried, brisk, active existence, which lasts for the restof the summer and autumn. When the tourist seasononce begins, Oban is bustling and gay. Train andsteamer and coach pour streams of eager pleasureseekersinto the town—all countries of the world arerepresented, all ages and ranks in its hotels and streets.The shriek of the engines, the clear tones of the steamerhells,and the rumble of wheels are heard more frequentlythe hotels hoist their flags ; bands play on the promenadegraceful white-sailed yachts glide into the bay and di'opanchor ; tourists and canvas-shoed yachtsmen throng thestreets and shops ; and there is a general air of bustleand of coming and going. For Oban is a place ofpassage and not of rest. Tourists go to Oban simplyfor the purpose of getting to somewhere else. Beautifulas the situation of the town is, its chief attraction tovisitors is the ease with which, from Oban, they canreach other parts of the Highlands. Thus it is thatalthough the appearance of Oban in the season is alwaysthe same, the individuals who make up the scene ai-ealways changing, Though the number of families whospend a month or two here in the summer is yearly increasing,comparatively few people, except the proprietorsof the villas on the outskirts of the town and the heightsbehind, visit Oban for more than a week at a time. Theprosperity of the town depends on this annual streamof tourists ; and the character of its trade, its municipalpolicy, and its later history have been detennined bythis consideration.The main street of Oban is a broad thoroughfare,curving round the bay, and flanked upon one side bythe quays, on the other by substantial and handsomeOBANshops and hotels. As it leaves the town at the N end,this street assumes the character of an esplanade, andthe shops give way to magnificent hotels and prettyvillas. Towards the S end of this street another extendsat right angles to it, directly back from the sea, whilethere are various side and back streets. Althoughmuch has recently been done in the way of improvingthe appearance of the town, its beauty and conveniencehas been sadly interfered with by the careless and injudiciousway in which the original streets and laneswere laid out. In 1859 the fashionable northern quarterof Oban, known as the 'Corran,' was feued from theproprietor of DunoUy, and in the two following yearsthe northern esplanade and Columba Terrace, includinntheGreat Western Hotel, were built. Since then thetown has been steadily growing, numerous villas beinobuilt,especially on the surrounding heights, thoughadmirers of Oban have not thought that "all the tenementserected there contribute to the beauty of theburgh. The neighbouring proprietors have done a greatdeal to beautify the place by planting the environs withfir, larch, oak, spruce, etc., one especially planting 768acres within eight years. The main body of the town iscut into two parts by a small stream. Over 200 yardsof the frontage of the town on the shore is occupied bythe large quay and sea-wall, built by the Callander andOban Railway Company. The construction of this workwas begun in February ISSO, and during the summer ofthat year a staff of divers were employed 16 hoursdaily in laying the foundations. The superstructure isof concrete, and the total length of the sea-wall is 670feet. Handsome waiting-rooms are provided for theconvenience of the passenger traffic, while travellingcranes and lines of rails assist the loading and unloadingof cargo. Besides this railway quay there are other twoolder piers, one of which was improved and enlarged in1S36 by the joint efforts of certain townsmen and the lateMarquis of Breadalbane, although the latter managed toobtain control of the whole. The anchorage in the hajisgood and safe, and every summer is crowded withyachts of all sizes, and other craft.With theexception of thecourt-house and thechurches,the most imposing buildings in Oban are all connectedwith its tourist traffic ;they are the quays, the hotels,and the railway station. The court-house was built in1863 with the aid of a government grant of £1199 ;and includes a court-room, police-station, and policecells.The parish church, built as a chapel of ease in1821 at a cost of £1143, is a neat edilice in the easternpart of the town. It is seated for 500. St Columba'sEstablished church was built in 1875 from designs byDavid Thomson, of Glasgow, at a cost of about £5000 ;and is seated for between 500 and 600. It is a handsomeGothic edifice, with a spire 120 feet high andstained-glass windows. On the face of the rising-groundbehind the town stands conspicuously a Free church, oflight early Gothic architecture, with a low Norman towerand pointed spire, built in 1846 from a design by MrPugin. The other churches are a U.P., built in 1867 ;Congregational, built in 1S20, and rebuilt in 1880; StColumba's Roman Catholic pro-cathedral, a temporarywooden structure (1S79 ;300 sittings) ;and the ScottishEpiscopal church of St John the Evangelist, a lateGothic edifice of 1863, with a new nave of 1882, and400 sittings. It was consecrated by the late ArchbishopTait, then Bishop of London, in 1864. Three schoolsthe High, Roman Catholic, and Episcopalian—with respectiveaccommodation for 420, 110, and 203 children,had (1883) an average attendance of 268, 24, and 88,and grants of £223, Is., £5, Is. 4d., and £71, 17s. 6d.There are also several private adventure schools. TheLorn Combination Poorhouse, with accommodation for234 inmates, was opened in 1862. The railwaystation, erected in an open and commanding site nearthe quay, is one of the prettiest and most gracefulbuildings in the town. It is a single-storied buildingof varnished white and pitch pine, iron, andglass ;and has a delightfully aii-y and elegant appearance.It was opened on 1 July 1880. Oban has even125