Kilchattan Bay is a small village located on the eastern side of the Isle of Bute,
approximately 2 miles from its southern most tip and alongside the coast road at
the foot of a steep hill called the Suidhe Bhlain (123m) which shields the village
from the prevailing westerly wind. It overlooks the Firth of Clyde and the islands
of Great and Little Cumbrae. The bay has a half moon form and measures about 1 1/2
miles across the mouth. The northern sandy bay being know as the Wee Bay. The village
is named after the sixth century bishop, Saint Cathan, who established a hermitage
at this location in AD 539. His nephew was Saint Blane and a Chapel was established
in his honour in the 12th century. The Chapel still exists as a ruin, two miles to
the northwest of the village. The village developed initially as a row of fishermen's
cottages. The only other significant building was a Corn Mill, which was first licenced
in 1474 and was active into the mid nineteenth century, but has now been converted
into a cottage. Sometime in the second half of the eighteenth century the 3rd Earl
of Bute had built a ‘draw-
