Post Office Repeater Station

There's a squat concrete tower on the hills outside Oban that most visitors drive straight past without a second glance. The Post Office Repeater Station sits up there amplifying radio signals across Argyll, doing its job quietly for decades while the tourists head to McCaig's Tower instead. But if you're staying at Oban Holiday Park or one of the nearby pods and want a proper walk with minimal crowds, it's worth the climb.

The station itself isn't much to look at from close range - just a functional 1970s lump of a building with antennae bristling from the roof. But the walk up there is the point. You get proper views across the Sound of Mull and back over Oban town, and in decent weather it's genuinely cracking. The path isn't arduous, though it's a bit steep in places, and you won't find coaches full of schoolkids clogging it up.

This appeals more to walkers than sightseers, to be honest. If you want a tidy circular route from town with something concrete to aim for, this works well. Families with small children might find it underwhelming once they've done the half-hour slog and discovered it's a locked building with no visitor facilities. Allow an hour there and back from Oban proper if you're reasonably fit.

No admission charge because there's nothing to admit to. Just turn up, walk, and get a different angle on the bay. It's the sort of place that appeals precisely because it's not on anyone's must-do list.