The villages around the loch

Medieval monasteries, lengthy piers, quarantine stations, gunpowder mills and baronial retreats.
A page yet to be completed, this fine work is in slow progress.

Historic Kilmun

Historic Kilmun traces its history back to the 6th century when Saint Fintan Munnu established a church or chapel leading to the name Kilmun (Gaelic cill Mhunnu, ‘church of Munn’).
This then became a significant religious centre bringing about the name of 'the Holy Loch'. Later there were further churches built, today the ruins of a medieval tower can be seen next to the most recent church, built in the 1840's.

Kilmun is also home to the Argyll Mausoleum, commissioned and built to house the remains of Chiefs of the Clan Campbell, the Dukes and Earls of Argyll, and their families.

Ardnadam

Ardnadam village lies to the southern shore of the loch with Ardnadam bay following inland from the distinctive Lazaretto Point, home to Lazaretto point War Memorial.
Formerly the site of a quarantine station for Clyde ports later famous for having the longest pier on the Firth of Clyde at 200ft/160m long.

Sandbank

Sandbank also sits on the shouthern shore of Holy Loch and maybe the most notable village of the loch.

From Scottish Places.info: "The village of Sandbank is located on the southern side of the Holy Loch in Argyll and Bute. Lying northwest of Dunoon, the village grew from mid-19th century in association with gunpowder mills at nearby Glen Lean. Thereafter Sandbank became popular with wealthy Glaswegians as a retreat and many of the fine villas date from this time.
It was once home to two boatyards, one of which, Robertsons, built yachts for the Americas Cup challenges. Sandbank was the focus for the US Navy presence on the Holy Loch between 1960 and 1992, which once extended to 3000 personnel and was by far the largest contribution to the local economy. Part of their base here now forms the Holy Loch Marina. The economy is now focused on its business park, with a call-centre as the major employer. The Church of Scotland dates from 1868, while a prominent war memorial lies at Lazaretto Point.