All aboard, next stop Oban
Cruise ships are dropping anchor in Oban again bringing visitors ashore, writes Kathie Griffiths.
More than 400 passengers were onboard the MV Hamburg when it docked in Oban Bay, welcomed by Oban town ambassador Joe Reich, piper Calum MacInnes and Elaine Robertson.
Joe was also on the platform at Oban station when a Midland Pullman train pulled in recently carrying 250 passengers. The luxury highspeed diesel and her elegant carriages runs deluxe tours the length and breadth of Britain.
Oban’s North Pier was also an unexpected port of call for the Lord of the Highlands, which took a detour from cruising the historic locks of the majestic Caledonian Canal because of works. Tourists David and Elaine Cottrell from Bury, Lancashire, were onboard the Lord of the Highlands with 17 other passengers on the trip that was also taking them to Mull on their seven-day voyage.
Other cruise ships expected in Oban this month include the Spitzbergen on Tuesday May 17 and Silver Moon on Tuesday May 24, as well as the Ocean Atlantic with more scheduled for later in the year.
From Monday June 6 to Monday June 13, the last seagoing paddle steamer, the Waverley, returns to the Western Isles for the first time in four years. After calling at Campbeltown, she will sail round the Mull of Kintyre and cruise north between Islay and Jura to Colonsay for a brief stop before reaching Oban.
This year sees the Waverley’s 75th anniversary of her maiden voyage which took place on June 16, 1947.
A 75th Anniversary Appeal raised more than £120,000 towards the cost of winter maintenance works getting her ready for the new season.
Donations can be made online or by calling 0141 243 2224.