Jacob’s Ladder is an iconic part of Oban providing a shortcut to the famous McCaig’s Tower which stands proudly above the town.
But steep staircase has suffered at the hands of mindless litter louts and vandals, to the extent that the viewpoint had lost some of its shine.
The team used their abseiling skills this week to help collect rubbish from the cliff-face.
Maurice Wilkins, chairman of Keep Oban Beautiful, said: “KOB, in conjunction with the Oban Distillery, made an arrangement with Oban Mountain Rescue to abseil down the bank between the Jacob’s Ladder steps and the distillery wall below.
How to Keep Oban Beautiful
“The aim was to make a start on collecting the many years’ worth of rubbish which has been tossed over the bank by the drinkers on the seats above. KOB volunteers took the bags down to the bin area at the bottom of the ladder where the council has agreed to remove them.
“This first evening was somewhat experimental. I think the publicity may well bring the ongoing problem of rubbish dumping and vandalism to a wider public.”
Benches are located near the top of the steps to allow walkers to enjoy a welcome rest and take in the views over the cliff and across the bay.
But sadly the hillside has been scattered with broken bottles, drinks cans and all kinds of rubbish.
A massive pile has accumulated at the very bottom of the cliff, only accessible through the back of Oban Distillery.
The steep steps lead up the cliff-face from Tweedale Street in the town centre to Ardconnel Crescent.
Mr Wilkins added: “I hope that we’ll be able to do this again sometime, however, the big push will take place sometime in the future when we try to think of a way of removing the many years worth of rubbish which has ended up behind the distillery.
‘Find a way to stop the minority’
“Meanwhile we must try to find a way to stop the unsociable minority from throwing beer cans, whisky bottles, council barriers, traffic cones, carry-out boxes and other assorted junk over the fence. It would be good if they stopped kicking the fences down too.”
Marie Porter, a member of Oban Mountain Rescue Team, said: “It was a successful evening. With the help of Keep Oban Beautiful, we swept most of the steps.
“Using ropes, three members of our team abseiled down the cliff edge and managed to clean away most of the visible rubbish from the area below the lower bench.
“We managed to clear a massive amount of rubbish, so it should look much better now.
“The top area has been cleared, but there are many years of accumulated rubbish further down.
“It was mostly bottles and cans, the odd frisbee and football.
“We are not sure how much of the rubbish we will be able to remove from the bottom of the cliff. But we will definitely be in touch with Keep Oban Beautiful to do this again.
“We hope that this will discourage people from littering the area.”
Conversation