Three hundred years ago, herring were so plentiful in the Firth of Clyde that boats came from as far afield as the Isle of Man to fish these waters. In Gourock, local fishermen used mussels to bait their lines and the shells, discarded by generations of fishermen, formed a blue-black embarkment along the shore.

By the end of the 18th century, the herring shoals had moved on to deeper waters and Gourock’s people were already working in new industries, such as rope and sail-making and, eventually, boat building.

Henry Bell’s ‘Comet’, the first passenger carrying steamship on the Clyde, was launched in 1812, and the era of mass tourism was born. Being the first resort on the route, Gourock was an immediate hit with the holidaymakers and day trippers from Glasgow and Central Scotland.

An image of Henry Bell's "Comet" "The first efficient steam vessel to sail European waters."

By 1838 a new pier was being built at Gourock to accommodate the influx of steamboats and other vessels, along with all the street musicians and puppeteers who came along to entertain the tourists. Soon thereafter the Marine Baths were opened near Old Gourock Church, offering hot and cold sea water swimming baths, including one bath reserved for the exclusive use of ladies. Those were heady days for Gourock entrepreneurs, and grand villas began springing up from Kempock Point all along Gourock Bay.

The fashion for going ‘doon the watter’ lasted well into the 1960s, when cheap package tours began to lure the mass market away to the Mediterranean. Today, Gourock is a quieter by far than the typical British seaside resort and, as the locals will tell you, much prettier too, with its panoramic views across the Clyde still as spectacular as ever.

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