Rosneath is a village just inside the mouth of Gare Loch, off the Firth of Clyde. In the 6th century AD St Modan arrived here and founded a church. The present-day parish church includes the earlier ruins, and in 1880 a carved stone was found there which is thought to have been St Modan's tombstone. There is also a headstone believed to mark the grave of the only African slave buried in Scotland. St Modan's Well is renowned for its healing waters. Rosneath Castle, a neo-classical mansion which replaced an earlier structure owned by the Clan Campbell, was used as a military hospital during the First World War. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, resided there until her death in 1939, and the castle and estate were sold. Since this coincided with the start of the Second World War, and since Gare Loch offered ready access to deep water combined with the flat terrain of the estate, Rosneath was chosen as the site for a naval base. The naval base is now gone, but much of the Rosneath Peninsula is still Ministry of Defence property. That said, there is still room for leisure activities on the peninsula, most notably at Cove Park, which offers residencies for artists, and there is sailing and other watersports activity at Rosneath Castle Park. The peninsula is also home to a variety of wildlife, including buzzards, hen harriers and sparrowhawks up above and roe deer down below. Kilcreggan, at the southern end of the peninsula, has a pier from where ferries leave for Gourock.
Map of the area.
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| Rosneath and the Firth of Clyde - geograph.org.uk - 664255. Photo by Thomas Nugent, via Wikimedia Commons |
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