Kilchurn Castle stands at the northern end of Loch Awe on a peninsular of land that would have been an island in the past when water levels were higher.

The earliest part of the courtyard castle is a five-storey tower built by Colin Campbell, Lord of Glenorchy, in the mid 15th century. Further ranges of buildings were added in the 16th & 17th centuries. Sir John Cambell, Earl of Breadalbane, completed the last major alterations to the castle in the late 17th century. He heightened the castle walls and added round corner-towers. He also built a large barrack block along the northwest side, the first purpose built barracks in Scotland. Kilchurn was garrisoned by government troops during the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings. The castle was struck by lightning in 1769 and subsequently abandoned.