Glenstriven House was built in the 1860s for Duncan Cameron Kennedy, a wealthy Glasgow merchant, before becoming the family home of the Berry family, who owned it until the mid 20th Century. Glenstriven operated a renowned pheasant shoot until recently, signs of which are still visible throughout the grounds.
In the 1940s Loch Striven was used to test midget submarines and the bouncing bombs of Dambusters fame, and during the Cold War the area hosted American nuclear submarines at Holy Loch and extensive Royal Navy bases and sites.