Kilchrenan Inn

If you are visiting Oban, we strongly recommend making the short detour to this family-run pub with rooms close to the shores of majestic Loch Awe. Once an 18th-century trading post, and set against a dramatic mountainous backdrop, it still functions as a local but is also an all-round destination run by a brilliant team overseen by owners Pip Pedley and Phil Carr.

The cosy restaurant offers a ‘top-tier' dining experience, whether you are hankering after a pub classic or something more fancy. The Kilchrenan’s signature Scotch eggs with celeriac rémoulade get a regular thumbs-up, likewise the locally sourced lamb, but expect anything from mussels in cider or wild chanterelles on sourdough toast to beer-battered ‘angel-cut’ haddock, venison and pheasant pie or pan-fried pork belly with salsa verde, onion purée, braised peas and new potatoes.

Lunchtime sandwiches, soups, burgers and suchlike make handy fuel for passing walkers and cyclists, the Sunday roast is regularly booked up, while desserts might include old favourites such as a chocolate brownie with ice cream. To drink, join the throng in the bar for a pint of locally brewed beer (from Fyne Ales just down the road), dip into the line-up of whiskies or pick something from the reasonably priced, accessible wine list.