Guest Pub - The Lorne, Oban

The Lorne, Stevenson Street, Oban. (c) The Lorne.

The Lorne is one of a chain of pubs owned by Maclay Inns, based in Scotland. We were tempted in by a sandwich board on the main street proclaiming The Lorne as "The Best Pub In Oban!" and whilst it's difficult to gauge whether that's strictly true, it's certainly an excellent pub well worth visiting.

Oban, on the west coast, is proclaimed as "the seafood capital of Scotland" and is a tourist trap for many people visiting the Western Isles with its own railway terminus (one branch of the picturesque West Highland Line) and numerous passenger ferry routes to the islands run mainly by Caledonian MacBrayne.

Oban. (c) The Lorne.

The Lorne has a 'proper pub' feel to it and features an impressive oblong central bar with various cooking lagers and some draught Euro beers, of which the wife sampled the Peroni Nastro Azzuro. A top shelf running around the bar's perimeter was crammed with bottles of whisky from all over Scotland (I wish I'd taken a picture) which I'm guessing is more for the tourists, but it adds to the character of the place.

The Lorne, Stevenson Street, Oban. (c) The Lorne.

Food is served all day but the big attraction was the promise of hand-pulled local ales and a Cask Marque. There were two pumps on, one supplying well-kept Deuchars IPA and the other the more intruiging, locally brewed Oban Bay Brewery Skelpt Lug. This is served in rotation with an Oban Bay Brewery stout called Fair Puggled which I didn't get opportunity to sample, but if it's as good as the Skelpt Lug it's worth giving it a go. Bar prices were pretty reasonable, as was the food, and I'll certainly be going back should I ever be passing through again.