North of Oban lies the beautiful Ganavan Sands - well worth a visit. On the way to the Sands can be found the Clach a' Choin (Dog Stone) associated in legend with Fingal's dog Bran. Nearby lies the ruined Dunollie Castle, once the stronghold of the Lords of Lorne who controlled a third of all Scotland. On the road to Connel is the Castle of Dunstaffnage, originally owned by Clan Campbell and an early resting place of the Stone of Destiny (also Stone of Scone).
The jewel in Oban's architectural crown must be MacCaig's Tower (known locally as MacCaig's Folly) commissioned by John Stewart MacCaig, a banker and philanthropist. Building work began in 1897 as a Public Works project to relieve local unemployment. Intended as a great museum, some £5,000 had been spent on its solid granite walls when John MacCaig died and the scheme was abandoned.
Oban has a peculiar history in that, while it has two cathedrals, neither has any antiquity. The cathedrals are St. Columba's Roman Catholic (a modern granite building designed by Sir Giles Scott) and the Scottish Episcopal St. John the Divine with its reredos memorial to Bishop Chinnery-Haldane of Argyll and the Isles.
Although the Scottish Parliament passed an Act in 1651 authorising the construction of a church, it was not until 1821 that the Old Parish Church was built. Indeed the minister at nearby Kilmore had the option of spending his remaining years in Kilmore or "remove to the mans and glebe to be designeit at Oban". The historic parish of Kilmore was home to Micoll MacColl who signed the Covenant for his colleagues. It was also home to Patrick Macdonald (1729 - 1824), a distinguished musician, who published "A Collextion of Highland Vocal Airs" and "A Compleat Theory of Scots Highland Bagpipe". Kilmore parish church itself has a memorial window dedicated to Ian Hay (Beith) the novelist.
Last updated 20 October 1998