Ganavan beach

I went for a wander down to Ganavan this afternoon, both to stretch the legs and to find a Blip. There were a number of wartime activities here, including a seaplane maintenance slipway where the Sunderlands were drawn up.

Oban's bathing beach, for those of you who don't know it, is at the end of a long dead-end road which continues along the prom and under Dunollie Castle. There are a lot of houses here and there along the route - it's quite a desirable place to live, I'm told, especially if you have a sea view.

There used to be a pavilion above the beach - I remember going to a wedding reception there. The beach, which was given to the town for the benefit of the public in 1927, is a favourite spot for bathing familes in the summer and dogs and their walkers at all times of the year. There are wonderful views over to the mountains of Morvern and it's a great place to watch the ferries coming and going along the Sound of Mull.

Turn round, and as my extra shows, the view is very different. A small number of the better-off people now have a wonderful place to live and a great view to boot, at the expense of the rest of the punters who have to look at the outside of their smart white houses. There was a lot of fuss at the time as it was deemed unfair to use a public space for private building. There have been further disagreements with the council, firstly over the parking charge, again on land that was gifted to the town, and secondly over the lease of a part of the land and the toilets to somebody who seems to be encouraged to build a restaurant or a cafe there.

All-in-all, it seems that the people of Oban really just wanted a quiet beach to swim and walk their dogs, but maybe I've only heard half of the story!