20 Attractions to Explore Near Duart Castle

A beautiful island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It is home to a population of ~40, but there’s not really any village on the island. If you want to stay on the island there are some self catering cottages and a bunkhouse. The island is known for the ruined Gylen Castle, a small tower house built in 1582. Kerrera is in fact quite a large island and can be compared with Scarba, Seil and Luing, is scarcely populated and provides excellent shelter for the Oban harbour.

A ruined castle which was built to dominate the Sound of Kerrera which was once part of a major maritime route for vessels sailing between the mainland and the Inner Hebrides. The castle consisted of a four storey 'L' plan Tower House that was built in the Scots Baronial style. The ground floor consisted of a vaulted store and an access passageway that led to a small courtyard occupying the area to the edge of the cliff as well as the adjoined Stair Tower.

Dunollie Castle is a small ruined castle located on a hill north of the town of Oban, on the west coast of Scotland in Argyll. Discover the 1745 Laird's House which holds the fascinating history of the the MacDougall Family and Servants Quarters, including our temporary "Women of Dunollie" exhibition featuring some of the most beautiful pieces from our textile collection.

This is a rural beach that offers wonderful coastal views and gloriously soft sands. Walk along the coast of Ganavan Bay, admiring the views of the islands of Mull and Lismore. Swim in the waters off the coast carefully. The coastal and quiet road from Oban to Ganavan Sands is widely used by the local community for walks, running and cycling.

Oban Distillery is both one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and one of the smallest with just two pot stills. It has only two pot stills, making it one of the smallest in Scotland, producing a whisky that has been described as having a "West Highland" flavour that falls between the dry, smoky style of the Scottish islands and the lighter, sweeter malts of the Highlands.

Staffa, uninhabited Atlantic island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland, situated 6 miles off the island of Mull and 33 miles west of Oban. The island came to prominence in the late 18th century after a visit by Sir Joseph Banks. The island’s distinctive six-sided columns of rock are formed from basalt, the same as the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. The latter's Hebrides Overture brought further fame to the island, which was by then uninhabited.

McCaig's Tower and Battery Hill is a prominent tower on Battery Hill overlooking the town of Oban in Argyll, Scotland. It is built of Bonawe granite taken from the quarries across Airds Bay. Built in 1897 by local banker John Stuart McCaig, the aim of the tower was to provide work for local stonemasons and a lasting monument to the McCaig family. The gardens inside the tower are well maintained and are a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of town life in Oban.

Dunstaffnage Castle is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland, stands on a huge cliff in northern Scotland overlooking the Firth of Lorn and the entrance to Loch Etive. In Scottish, a firth is a long estuary, similar to a fjord, and a loch is a mostly landlocked bay. It consists of a massive 13th-century curtain wall, with round towers, and an altered 16th-century gatehouse. Ranges of buildings within the walls contained a hall and kitchen.

Moy Castle is a ruined castle near Lochbuie on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. The tower has 3 main stories and a garret, with two entresol floors built over the haunches of the barrel-vaults covering the ground and first floors, and remains of two 16th century cap-houses. The site is now a scheduled monument.

A privately owned flat tidal island at the entrance to Loch Creran on the west coast of Scotland. The island is run as a hotel with wooded grounds. It is one of the iconic location for a holiday making and also Eriska is now owned by Creation Gem, a family-owned business from Hong Kong.

Seil is one of the Slate Islands, located on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles southwest of Oban, in Scotland. Seil has been linked to the mainland by bridge since the late 18th century. It became part of the estates of the Breadalbane family and in the early 18th century they began to exploit the rich potential of the Neoproterozoic slate beds.

Easdale is a small island in Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. it covers an area of less than 10 hectares but has a permanent population of about 60, plus a similar number who own residential property and visit regularly. The tiny car-free island of Easdale has much to offer the short or long term visitor.

Loch Creran, situated at the northern end of the Firth of Lorn, is a typical fjordic sea loch. This loch has four deep basins separated by rocky sills. The conditions change from the entrance of the loch to its head. The site is particularly notable for biogenic reefs of the calcareous tube-worm Serpula vermicularis, which occur in shallow water around the periphery of the loch.

Castle Stalker is a four storey medieval tower house standing on a small rocky tidal islet known as Rock of the Cormorants. The Castle is believed to have its origins in a small residential fort built in 1320 and used by the MacDougalls who were the Lords of Lorn. Successive generations of the Stewart family have restored and protected this truly unique Scottish castle.

The Inner Hebrides islands are an archipelago of Scotland located southeast of the Outer Hebrides . Traditionally the Inner Hebrides are divided into two groups: those of the North and those of the South. The settlement of the Inner Hebrides began when the Scandinavian Vikings arrived there before the 9th century BC. C. The Nordic Control formally began in 1098 when Edgar of Scotland put the islands in the hands of Magnus III , King of Norway

The Slate Islands are an island group in the Inner Hebrides, lying immediately off the west coast of Scotland, north of Jura and southwest of Oban. The main islands are Seil, Easdale, Luing, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua. Scarba and Kerrera, which lie nearby, are not usually included. The islands from which the slate that gives rise to the name was quarried on a substantial commercial basis are Easdale, Belnahua, Luing and Seil.

Arduaine Garden is a place of peace on a wild shore, which has a twenty acre coastal garden situated on the southern slope of a promontory beside the Sound of Jura. Arduaine is well-known in rhododendron circles for its wonderful collection of species and hybrids. The garden nurtures plants from across the globe – from East Asia to South America.

Lunga is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The surrounding seas are fished for prawns and scallops and there is a salmon farm off the south eastern shores. The Special Area of Conservation of which the island is part hosts a growing number of outdoor leisure pursuits.

Loch Etive is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km long and from 1.2 km to 1.6 km wide. Its depth varies greatly, up to a maximum of 150 m. The narrow mouth of the loch results in its most unusual feature, the Falls of Lora. Part of the north bank has been designated a Special Area of Conservation in particular due to old sessile oak woods.

Aros Park is a park and an area of woodland managed by the Forestry Commission on the outskirts of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull and has an elevation of 105 feet. . Trails wander through attractive woodland, lush with ferns and waterfalls. A look-out at Alainn View that will lift you high into the tree tops.