West of Scotland - Oban & Mull

Our plans for the day had been disrupted slightly due to a change in ferry assignment from vehicle to foot passenger only from Tobermory to Kilchoan. We had managed to book a last minute foot-passenger sailing from Tobermory back to Oban but it did mean that we had to leave the car in Oban and return there and drive the longer route round to our next overnight stop at Mallaig.

Before all that though we checked out early from our lovely B&B near Kennacraig. They had very kindly prepared a takeaway breakfast with hot bacon rolls, cheese and ham rolls, cinnamon buns, juice and fruit. We set off on our 90 minute drive to Oban and enjoyed the hot breakfast rolls on the way.

---

Oban Lifeboat Station

Oban is a busy town and one of the main ferry ports on the west coast serving many of the islands. We parked in the train station carpark and left the car for the day and walked over to the Lifeboat Station. Here we took our evidence photo and photos of their Shannon Class lifeboat which was moored opposite the station. At the station we met Coxwain Ally and Mechanic Tom together with Flynn and Whiskey the dogs.

We had a very interesting chat with the guys about the history of the station and the shouts that they had experienced. The station was established in 1972. In 1990 a new mooring was established close to the ferry terminal being upgraded in 2018 with a new pontoon.

The station building is one of the oldest and most striking in Oban. It was acquired in 1991 and served as the Old Customs House for many years. On the outside of the station they had installed an interesting plaque giving details of the new Shannon Lifeboat and its donor. It was a lovely idea so visitors can see the details of the boat. Following the retirement of their Trent class from 1997, the new Shannon class was brought into service on 4^th March 2024, the same day as the RNLI 200^th Anniversary. It is 13-50 The Campbell Watson funded from the legacy of Mrs Elizabeth Watson, née Campbell, who died aged 90 in May 2021.

Ally and Tom kindly took us down to the boat to have a look round with a good discussion about the boat and in particular its navigation system. We took some more pictures before they had to leave to visit a local school. Back at the station we said our goodbyes to Ally and Tom and was introduced to Lawrie who was also joining them at the school visit.

After our visit we headed to the ferry terminal to await our ferry across to the Island of Mull. Everything was on time and it was a pleasant crossing. On arrival at the ferry port at Craignure we joined a bus connection which was to take us into Tobermory along single track roads with passing spaces. A hair-raising experience in a double-decker bus.

---

Tobermory Lifeboat Station  

Tobermory is a pretty harbour town with colourful buildings along its main street and waterfront. It is famous as the fictional town of Balamory in a popular childrens TV programme.

We had noticed on our Marine Traffic app that the Tobermory Lifeboat was out on a shout but was returning to station. As we arrived at the station shop and bought a pin badge, the boat was just arriving back at its mooring. By this time it was raining hard and we stood in a shelter watching the crew wash and refuel the boat for the next shout. We did not want to disturb the crew after their call to sea so we said hello as they returned to the station and left them to their day.

The station was established in 1938 and is a very interesting building. The station closed n 1947 due to manning difficulties and the lifeboat at the time was transferred to Mallaig. Reopened again in 1990, the station received an Aran Class boat before the arrival of a Severn Class in 2003. The station building was a lock-up garage and store for the ferry terminal and converted to crew facilities and a shop in 1994.

Their current boat is 17-39 Elizabeth Fairlie Ramsay funded by the legacies of Mrs E F Ramsay, Miss J T Towers & Mrs Isabel Paton Scoular.

As the weather had really deteriorated and we were soaked through with no car to shelter in, we managed to catch an earlier bus and ferry back to Oban. It was then a long detour drive north to Mallaig where we stayed overnight in a lovely B&B overlooking a Loch. After enjoying a delicious meal we retired to dry off and a good nights sleep ready for the next days adventure.