SAW022631 SCOTLAND (1949). Oban, general view, showing McCaig's Tower and Ardconnel Road. An oblique aerial photograph taken facing south.

At the centre of this picture is McKaig's Tower. This was built by a wealthy local banker, and intended as a monument to his family. Based on the Colosseum in Rome, McCaig originally planned it to have a museum, art gallery and central tower, with statues of himself and his family around the inside, but it was left unfinished at his death. It is considered today as an example of the class of buildings known as 'follies' - personal projects, often rather eccentric, which stand as advertisements to their builders' highly individual taste.