A small village of Argyll and Bute, Lochgoilhead lies on the River Goil where it enters Loch Goil, an arm of Loch Long at the northern end of the Cowal peninsula. It is linked by road to Loch Fyne and Inveraray via Gleann Beag (Hell's Glen) and developed in the 19th century in association with the manufacture of textiles and the steamer trade.