Ruins

I am very much hoping my day is not going to end in ruins. Today was my first day of "flying solo" with a client while completing IACS forms (I will not go into what these are) I have been learning to do this for a year and today I was finally let loose on the clients. A big day for me and lets hope the clients were happy and we will not end up like this ruin.

To give my head a break I took a walk above Oban to the ruins of the hydropathic hotel. It has fantastic views over the town and out to Mull, I will Blip these another day. The hotel was never opened but here is a little history for those interested. I recommend searching it out if you ever have time. Also make sure you have a look at the back blip from yesterday because it's worth a view.

The Oban Hills Hydropathic Sanatorium was a proposed Hydropathic Hotel in Oban, Scotland. Construction of the hotel began in 1881 on a hill east of the downtown overlooking the town and the harbour. Had it been completed the hotel would have been a major landmark on the Oban skyline. The hotel was never completed due to financial difficulties and currently lies in ruins.

Hydropathy, the use of water for treating diseases and soothing pains, was very popular amongst the wealthy in 19th century Britain, with several Hydropathic Hotels being built around Scotland. With the newly arrived railway making Oban accessible to Glasgow and Edinburgh a group of Glasgow businessmen formed the Oban Hills Hydropathic Sanatorium Limited in 1881. The proposed hotel was to have contained 137 bedrooms, a conservatory, a concert hall and seawater baths. There were also plans for a golf course, stables, landscaped gardens and a hydraulic lift to bring guests up from the town.

Robert MacAlpine and Co. was contracted for the construction and 300 workers were employed in building the hotel. A miniature railway was built to carry construction materials up the hill. By 1882 the roof timbers were in place and the hotel was distinctly visible from the town below.

However, the project soon fell into financial difficulty, the cost of the hotel having been grossly underestimated.[1] Shareholders were unwilling to continue financing the construction and the nearly-completed hotel was abandoned. The structure slowly fell into ruin as local residents pillaged stones to build their own homes. The Old Hydro is now barely visible from the town below