Oban Community Council has just unveiled the results of the Oban Bay interpretation project.

This has been underway for around 3 years while the necessary funding came in from Scottish Natural Heritage, Argyll and the Islands LEADER and the Oban Common Good Fund.

This was finally in place last year and, in such a short time since then, the project has now been completed.It has involved the creation and production of 7 interpretation panels presented on enamelled stoneware – effectively big tiles.

The choice of material for the presentation of the panes was born from a marriage of the aesthetic (they’re beautiful) and the practical (they’re hard wearing).

Think about the life of such an information panel in the vicinity of Oban Bay.

Most of the panels have been installed on the railings right on the sea front – facing sea, salt, wind, high intensity light, herring gulls and frost. Traditional materials for such signs simply would not last against this constant onslaught.  The Community Council wanted something special for Oban so they opted to use a unique but traditional method of signage, using a natural and recyclable material – enamelled stoneware tiles.

This is the first time such materials have been used for this purpose in Britain. The work was done by Differentia Design and on Friday, to mark the completion of the project, one of the panels – on the Esplanade in front of the Corran Halls – was unveiled by a symbolic pair of Oban residents. Archie MacGill is one of Oban’s oldest residents, and 6 year-old Calum McLuckie represented the other end of the age spectrum.

Three of the panels are on lecterns and the one in front of the Corran Halls also carries a wind-up MP3 player with Gaelic songs by Oban Gaelic Choir, Capercaillie and others; tunes by leading musicians such as Aidan O’Rourke; and poems.

The first panel is situated near the Station and South Pier and is titled Oban, Open to the World with themes including the founding of Oban, McCaig’s Tower; and Open to the Islands like nearby Kerrera and Lismore.  This panel also shows the location of the other six.

The second panel, They Too Were Here, is on the railings in front of George Street and tells the story of the earliest inhabitants of the area – how Kings came to Kerrera and how Oban has been visited by artists like Scott, Mendelssohn, Turner and Wordsworth.

The third panel, The Water of Life, features information about the Firth of Lorn, the Black Lynn, Lochavullin, Oban Distillery and the North Pier – near which it is situated.  It also carries drawings of bottle-nose dolphins and a mute swan.

The fourth panel, A Gaelic Sea, in front of the Corran Halls, provides information about the Oban fishing fleet, lighthouses in the area, and Gaelic language and culture. This is the one with the wind-up MP3 player.

The fifth panel, On The Wing, is on the railings at Wellpark and carries illustrations of and information on the many different kinds of birds to be found in Oban Bay.

The sixth panel, Stone Voices, is in the gardens below the War Memorial and tells of the geology of the area, Fingal’s Dog Stone, Dunollie Castle and Dunollie House.

The seventh and final panel,  Sands of Time, is at Ganavan Sands and,through illustrations, photographs and text, provides information about the rich biodiversity of that part of the coast and how flying boats were stationed there in World War Two.

The panels feature several poems written by Isle of Luing poet Norman Bissell, one by local author Mhairi Ross and an extract from an Iain Crichton Smith poem. Most of these have been translated into Gaelic. Gaelic language and culture feature throughout the panels.

Kenny Macintyre and his team at Oban Community Council are next creating The Oban Circle website. There visitors will be able to plan their walks around Oban, download children’s trails and quizzes, listen to Gaelic song and poetry, and download prints of the Oban Circle Panels.

Great to see another invigorated Community Council setting about the challenge of establishing enduring projects like this, carrying their public benefit long into the future.

For further information on the Oban Bay Interpretation Panels, visit the Differentia Design website and phone:

• Kenny Macintyre 01631 563524
• Mhairi Ross 01631 720599
• Norman Bissell 01852 314322.

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