Trip to Oban! – Recap

One week ago today I was having the most incredible birthday in Scotland with David. It feels like it has been such a long time since we went on holiday and also since I shared a holiday recap. Last week was the first holiday I’ve been on in 2 years and it is one that I will never forget. I wanted to do a little holiday recap post like I used to do as I wanted to share a few things that we did because it was an experience I’ll never forget! 

Like most other people this year, we wanted to go on holiday but within our own backyard. Also, I always try to see some nature on my birthday. So, when David suggested a trip up to Oban in Scotland for some whale and dolphin watching I jumped at the chance. The journey up to Scotland was a long one so we broke it up into two parts. The first day of the trip we drove up to Carlisle where the rain did not stop. We made the most of it though and visited a bookshop that we could easily have got lost in. If you are ever in Carlisle I would highly recommend a trip to that shop, it is called Bookcase and is full of new and old books and is wonderful.

Day two started very early as we wanted to get to Oban in time for some lunch. The journey was just short of 4 hours. We travelled through rain storm after rain storm but the picturesque views were incredible and made the journey a lot of fun. We drove past the entire west side of Loch Lomond which was stunning. It was just never-ending beauty. It is definitely somewhere we would visit in the future. Somehow, we arrived to see Oban in glorious sunshine and wandered around the town for a few hours taking in the scenery and eating some food.  

Towards the end of the second day, we made our way to our ‘home’ for the next few nights. It was a tiny pod that I had found on AirBnB. It was located right on the edge of Loch Etive, a short drive outside of Oban. It was perfect, it had everything we needed from a comfy bed, to a lovely shower and it had some of the most stunning views out of its many windows. Also, it had a private beach which we visited as soon as we got settled into the pod. It was only a short 5 minutes walk down a hill. On that beach we saw so many seals moving around in the water, messing about and looking for food. They were incredibly close to us and it was magical. I felt so much excitement but also felt a lot of peace and felt incredibly relaxed. We finished our evening with some food and then came back to the pod to see the Milky Way out of the window!

Day three was my 24^th birthday! We were up at 4am to make the journey to Oban to catch the ferry across to the Isle of Mull. We needed to get the first ferry across because our boat trip started early. I’ve always wanted to see whales and dolphins in the wild in England and I could not miss the opportunity even if it mean getting up super early. The day started off with torrential rain in Oban and we were worried that the boat trip would be cancelled because of that. On our arrival in Mull though, there was glorious sunshine and we seemed to avoid the rain for the rest of the day. We were very lucky when it came to that and our luck continued.

Our boat trip began slowly but with a lot of wildlife. We saw so many different varieties of sea birds and even saw the White-tailed eagle pair that live on Mull. About an hour into the trip a Minke Whale (the smallest of the Great Whales) appeared right next to the boat. Immediately, I burst into happy tears because I could not quite believe it. It was so magical to see a Minke whale swim around our boat and be curious about what we were doing. No more than 20 minutes later and we came across a group of 3 Minke whales who were all lunge feeding. That was also wonderful to see and to witness how they got their food.

The trip continued on for another 4 hours and we saw so many whales and dolphins throughout them 4 hours. The trip runners said it was the best trip that they had been on for a while and said we were very lucky. I’ll never forget going back into the dock at Tobermory and being followed by a pod of Common Dolphins. They looked like they were loving following the boat. If you are ever on the Isle of Mull, I would highly recommend a boat trip with Sea Life Surveys who are based in Tobermory. They did not chase any of the animals, which I was worried about, they let them appear as they would in the wild and we only saw them by chance. they were spectacular and made my birthday unforgettable. After the boat trip we wandered around Tobermory and then got the ferry back to Oban. When we got back we had some food, ate some birthday cake and even saw the Milky Way again!

Day four, was our last day of the holiday. We started it by going down to the beach and watching the seals whilst we ate our breakfast. Then, we went into Oban and did some shopping ahead of the 6 hour drive home. The drive home was long, but picturesque. Again, we drove through rain shower after rain shower and took in every piece of scenery. We arrived home late but did not mind because we had an amazing time.

We had such a spectacular and unforgettable time in Oban and I would love to visit again in the future. If you are a fan of stunning scenery, wildlife and going somewhere to relax, I would highly recommend a trip away to Oban and the Isle of Mull. I loved it and already want to go back!

Is there anywhere in the UK that you would like to visit or would recommend visiting? Let me know in the comments!