President Lesley Kennedy welcomed twelve other members to the last meeting of 2015, and referred to the successful Joint Christmas Dinner with the Helensburgh Garelochside club at Helensburgh Golf Club the previous evening.
Guest speaker Richard Reeve, a local author, used the successive Dukes of Argyll as a pathway through the rich history of the Rosneath Peninsula — which was acquired by the Campbells in 1492 — up to the 1880s.
Cove pier and Kilcreggan pier were built in 1848, and after that a number of prestigious residence were built along the shore, most of which survive today. Many were the summer homes of rich Glasgow families.
In 1865 Cove and Kilcreggan became a burgh — Scotland's smallest — and it was a popular place to visit not just for holidays but also for one day excursions. A cutting from the Helensburgh and Gareloch Times in 1880 recorded the visit of 1,500 'excursionists' in five parties, thought to be the largest ever number in one day.
John McCormick proposed the vote of thanks, and then won the weekly raffle for a whisky miniature.