Oban would be on the west coast of Scotland,as far west as you can get without falling in the water. Look for the Isle of Skye on your map, across to the mainland, follow the coast down a bit and there it is. In my humble opinion the only place to start island hopping from - and some great pubs too!! The steamer these days, alas, would be the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry - otherwise ironically known as the Lord of the Isles.