An extended weekend in Oban: Island hopping in the southern Inner Hebrides

My first overnight trip since I moved to Aberdeen went to Oban, a small harbour town located on the west coast of Scotland, a gateway to the islands that make up the southern part of the Inner Hebrides. Back in early 2020, I lived and worked on the Isle of Skye for a few months and got to know the northern part of the Inner Hebrides as well as the Outer Hebrides pretty well. But I never made it further south than Skye. One island in particular had always piqued my interest; the Isle of Mull, the second-largest island in the Inner Hebrides, located just 45 minutes of sailing from Oban.

Since Oban offers much cheaper accommodation than Mull, I decided to stay there instead. I booked a bed at Oban Youth Hostel in town, and then took day trips to Mull and two lesser-known islands during my four-day journey. The other two islands, Kerrera and Lismore, are small and walkable, so a day each was enough for those, but I could’ve easily spent longer on Mull. Still, a day on the island gave me a good taste of it, and staying in Oban gave me the added bonus of a free afternoon to actually explore the town!

Exploring Oban

I arrived in Oban on a Thursday afternoon after a long train ride from Aberdeen that for some reason took me down south to Glasgow before going up north again to Oban. I quickly went to the hostel, dropped off my bag and set out to make use of the last three hours of daylight. Thankfully, Oban is very small and walkable, so I even managed to go thrift shopping for a while and also see everything I wanted.

I started with a visit to Dunollie Castle, a ruined 7th-century castle in the north of the town that was abandoned in the 10th century. Unfortunately, the castle was closed due to some ongoing construction, but I did get close enough to touch its historic walls!

I followed Corran Esplanada back into the centre where I located the thrift shops and went on a little spree (I found some real goodies!!) before making my way up to the main landmark in the town; McCaig’s Tower, built in the end of the 19th century as a monument to local banker John Stuart McCaig’s family. From below, it looks like an amphitheatre of some kind, but it’s actually a hollow structure with a park inside. McCaig had planned for a museum and art gallery to be built inside the structure, but his death in 1902 brought an end to its construction. It’s a very peaceful place with a great view over Oban and the neighbouring islands, but unfortunately, it started raining when I got there so I didn’t stay for long.

With my younger brother on Facetime, I headed back down to town, and paid a quick visit to Oban Distillery, one of the oldest and smallest whisky distilleries in Scotland. I’m no whisky drinker so I didn’t attend their famous tour. Instead, I found myself some dinner and then headed back to the hostel to rest and get an early night before my big day on Mull!

Island hopping

The next three days were nothing short of incredible. I had the sunniest weather – and this was in late February! On Mull, I rented a car and drove some of its beautiful single-track roads before embarking on a long hike to the majestic Carsaig Arches. On Kerrera and Lismore, I just walked, walked and walked. It was pure bliss. And I loved all three islands, but especially Kerrera. That little gem quickly became my second-favourite Scottish island, only surpassed by my beloved Raasay!

I’m working on separate posts from all three islands, so stay tuned!