Oban malt

It's not often that you find a distillery in the middle of a town, but Oban Distillery sits on the corner of George Street and Stafford Street, right in the centre of the town, overlooking what used to be called George Square. Built at the end of the 18th century, it formed the basis for the town which grew up around it. 

Seems a shame that the town allowed two modern buildings to go up right in front of it - The Clearing Shop and the restaurant 'Dolce Vita' to the right, just out of the picture. A garden with a few seats would have made a lovely place to sit in front of this historic building.

Specsavers, on the left, has been many things over the years but the OS map of 1867 shows it to be the local branch of the City of Glasgow Bank.

My extra today is the Regent Hotel, a listed building which was formerly the Marine Hotel and built in 1936. It occupies the site of what was once St John's Square - old maps suggest that the site was once a garden.