Our purpose
McCaig’s Tower is one of Oban’s most recognisable landmarks, yet useful information about its history, design, purpose, access and significance is scattered across designation records, archives, academic research, local collections and tourism pages.
This guide brings that material together in one readable place for visitors, local residents, teachers, researchers, journalists and people with a personal connection to Oban. It exists to explain the monument—not to claim it.
Why accurate history matters
The tower attracts memorable stories: that it began in one particular year, copied the Colosseum exactly, existed only to create jobs or served a specific wartime function. Some have a basis in evidence; others compress a complicated record into a convenient line.
The guide distinguishes verified facts from reasonable interpretation, local tradition and unresolved questions. Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated. An uncertain answer is more useful than a confident invention.
How the guide is researched
Priority is given to Historic Environment Scotland, the National Record of the Historic Environment, archival maps and photographs, accredited museum collections and peer-reviewed research. Tourism sources are useful for visitor context but are not treated as sole authority for disputed history.
Every substantial history or guide page includes references. The sources and references page explains how evidence is assessed, while History & Guides provides deeper editorial articles.
How the deterministic assistant works
The independent tower guide is not an open-ended generative chatbot. It selects concise answers from a reviewed knowledge base and approved article summaries. Drafts, malformed articles and unapproved prose are excluded.
If the knowledge does not support an answer, the assistant says so. It does not invent facts, dates, quotations or sources, and it always makes the website’s unofficial status clear.
The story behind the name
McCaig’s Tower is the historic Oban landmark. mccaigstower.co.uk is an independent visitor and historical guide. mccaigs is the technical studio that designed and built the website.
The name also has personal significance. The studio’s founder is from Oban and was born in the town’s former maternity hospital below McCaig’s Tower. The landmark formed part of the landscape behind the commercial mccaigs name, but that personal connection does not create ownership or official authority.
McCaigs Group and any associated trademarks are commercial entities. They do not imply ownership of, control over or official affiliation with McCaig’s Tower.
About mccaigs
mccaigs | Scotland’s Elite Technical Studio is an Edinburgh-based technical studio that builds practical AI systems, websites, workflow automation, internal tools and digital products for businesses across Scotland and the UK.
mccaigs chose to build and maintain this guide because the project combines a personal connection to Oban with the studio’s work in structured knowledge, accessible websites and deterministic assistants. That role is technical and editorial; it is not custodianship of the monument.
Independence and disclosure
The landmark, publication and studio are separate entities. The guide is not commissioned by a public authority and does not speak for the monument’s owner or custodian. Links to recognised organisations are references, not evidence of endorsement.
The footer credit identifies who built the website. It is a disclosure of authorship and technical work, not a claim over McCaig’s Tower.
Corrections and contributions
Historical knowledge improves when evidence is shared. Corrections and new material are welcome when they include enough information to be checked: an archive catalogue reference, dated newspaper report, museum record, photograph provenance or relevant published research.
Contact the editorial team through mccaigs.com and use “McCaig’s Tower correction” as the subject or opening line. Personal recollections may be recorded as local tradition, but they will not replace documented evidence without supporting sources.