Visting Oban Winter Festival
As a busy port town, Oban sees thousands of visitors passing through its streets and taking to the waters of its harbour every year. Despite this reputation, Oban certainly isn’t short on things to do while you’re here. Whether you’re visiting for a week, a few days, or even a couple of hours, there’s lots to see and do.
Although winter can be something of an off-season for many of the islands, the same cannot be said for Oban itself, as the town prepares for its famous Winter Festival!
Taking place over ten days, the event has run since 2011. The festival is a real highlight in the town’s calendar, and was voted one of Britain’s Best Christmas markets in 2023.
Read on as we look more closely at this fantastic festival suitable for the whole family.
Dates & Location of Oban Winter Festival
Oban Winter Festival 2024 takes place from the 15th to the 24th of November, with events and attractions found throughout the town.
With Oban itself built into the hillside and centred around its harbour, the lights from across the town illuminate the waters below.
What’s included in the festival?
As hinted earlier, one of the primary attractions of the festival is its market. Featuring many of the typical aspects of a traditional Christmas market, including great food and beverages to warm the cockles, it’s the perfect backdrop for wandering between the many events at the festival.
Kid activities
Starting with child-friendly events, there are several activities taking place throughout the festival, including favourites such as the Reindeer Parade, incredible light shows, and of course, the turning on of the Christmas lights themselves.
One of the most unique and popular features of the festival is the Winter Woods event. A display found in the Glencruitten woods just outside of the town, is an easily accessed event which showcases the incredible light displays featuring installations made with weatherproof upcycled, recycled, and repurposed materials.
With each Winter Woods featuring a unique theme, 2024’s iteration will feature installations inspired by oceans and seas.
As well as the typical festive events that one might expect, that’s not all there is for kids to enjoy, for example, they can get involved in the Young Entrepreneurs Market.
On Saturday the 16th of November, this particular part of the market is a chance for youngsters between the ages of 10 and 21 to show off their skills while encouraging the next generation of marketers.
With participation covering several disciplines, including handmade arts and crafts, artists & prints, seasonal decorations and much more, this event is a great opportunity for interactive entertainment.
Aside from direct festival activities, you can find a programme of kid-friendly activities including cinema visits and soft play areas here.
Adult activities
Whether you’re attending with or without kids, you needn’t worry – there are plenty of things to keep you, your partner or your friends entertained alongside the general festival activities!
Tours will continue to take place at the famous Oban Distillery, with aspects of the market also held within it. However, one of the most exciting events at the distillery is the annual Scottish Haggis & Whisky Festival or ‘Haggisfest’.
A festival within a festival, Haggisfest pits talented butchers against one another to see who can produce the best-tasting product, for the honour of the Golden Haggis Award.
An additional People’s Choice award is also held alongside, making the event a fantastic opportunity for first-time tasters and connoisseurs to sample the creme de la creme of haggis (and a dram or two of whisky!)
Moving back to activities the whole family can enjoy, you won’t want to miss the Oban Winter Festival’s finale concert. A night of traditional and contemporary music featuring a wealth of local talent, it’s an ideal way to round off your time at the festival.
If all of this isn’t enough, and you’re still looking for things to do, check out our blog for a full rundown of activities not just in Oban, but all around the west coast and Hebrides.
How to purchase tickets & their costs
While many events at the Oban Winter Festival are free entry, events such as the Winter Festival and Haggisfest are ticketed.
Some tickets are yet to go live, but you can find all ticketing the info here.
Where to stay & how to get to Oban
With Oban being such a busy hub for tourism, there are many great options to choose from when it comes to picking somewhere to stay. There are lots of great places to stay in Oban; however, there’s nowhere better than our hotel, No26 By The Sea, and our sister hotel, No17 The Promenade.
If visiting from further afield, driving from Edinburgh will mean your journey will be three hours, but from Glasgow, it’s only two hours! If you’re travelling by public transport, a scenic train service runs from Glasgow Queen Street station – book online here as soon as possible for lower prices.