A resort village on the island of Bute, Kilchattan lies on Kilchattan Bay, an inlet on the southeast coast of the island, 2 miles (3 km) north of Garroch Head. Steamers used to bring tourists from Glasgow, but this traffic declined in the 1950s and the village has now lost many of its facilities, and become rather a quiet backwater with many houses used as holiday homes. HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip landed here in 1957.
The settlement is associated with St. Cathan, from whom it takes its name, and his nephew St. Blane. The distinctive whitewashed former St. Blane's Hotel dates from 1881 is C-listed for its architectural merit, while the ruined 12th century Romanesque St Blane's Church lies a mile (1.5 km) to the southwest.
In the 19th C. there was a lime-producing industry at Kilchattan, with limestone extracted from a quarry above the village and baked in a kiln which can still be seen. The quarry was reused to form the Lower Reservoir, which provides the village with drinking water.
