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Once the rest of the group (you know, the fit, fearless section) met me at Dibidil we pitched the fly sheets and sorted out a bivvy spot for the night. Longer walks through Rum’s beautiful surroundings are possible thanks to wild camping being permitted on the island as well as access to two bothies in Guirdhil and Dibidil. As mentioned, the plan was to cross all of the Cuillins, reaching the highest point at 812m (I believe) on top of Askival. As it happened we ‘skipped’ Barkeval so we could get to the bigger peaks sooner. The only other notable feature is Kinloch Castle – a grand 19th-century country house that was built for the wealthy Sir George Bullough and is occasionally open for guided tours.
Left to their own devices they get really big of course. When the lodge was in its heyday the hunting parties would come around the island by boat whilst the staff would head inland from Kinloch. Rest assured it is a wonderful balance between brown sugar and complex tasting notes (as a previous review has stated - like cloves, nutmeg, and warmth from saffron) that you might expect from two different styles of rum. The bothy is the byre to a ruined house that lies close by, once an outpost of a large sheep farm that operated as part of the Loch Eil Estate from the mid-19th century. The last inhabitants, the Camerons, moved to Strathan during World War II, yet sheep continued to graze in Glen Kingie until the 1990s.
Entered through a small internal lobby, the one-room apartment is effectively an independent, well-finished, and very snug little bothy in itself, with its own hearth and a sleeping platform running the length of one wall. A small stonewalled outbuilding with a window in its west end has been constructed on the north side of the apartment. Key Attractions: Fishing. There are six lochs on Rum (Loch Papadil, Loch Coire nan Gruund, Loch MacIvor, Loch Fiachanis, Loch a’Ghillie Reamhra, and Loch Longwhich) which are open for fishing between April and October. For eager baggers there is the incentive to complete the round of the White Mounth (1051m) and Broad Cairn (998m). It’s very, very scenic though, and it has an otherworldly beauty that guarantees it will stay in your memory for a long time.
This comprised of a short wander around Kinloch followed by a hill walk up Hallival and a cycle to Kilmory Bay, with extra time allocated for picnic stops and plenty of photos. The weather over towards Skye was more dramatic and we could see we were missing some fairly hefty showers. Phew. Our award winning preserves are hand-made the traditional way in small batches. Our jams are made using the fresh seasonal fruit calendar of Scotland, and our marmalades contain Bothy spirits for an extra zing! They are Perth-based Chapter 7 Whisky, who won for their Chapter 7 Monologue Blended Scotch Whisky, which is aged for 26 years in a single sherry butt.What is a bothy? Many people think of them as exclusively Scottish, but in fact old farm buildings, cottages and crofts used by walkers are referred to as bothies throughout northern England, Wales and Northern Ireland too. The name is believed to come from the Scots Gaelic or Irish bothan, meaning 'hut', or the Welsh bwthyn, meaning 'cottage'. On the upside, the majority of the route is level, although towards Kilmory there are a few long inclines that will almost certainly get the heart pumping.
The west-facing road heads across the island to Harris where the Bullough family mausoleum has stood watch over the clifftops for well over a hundred years. Stop off at Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery west of the bothy; the tea room is decorated in traditional Tibetan style. Wood paneling and whitewashed walls greet you inside, and a steep staircase in the centre of an internal wall leads up to a two-room attic lit by skylights. There is also access to a small cloakroom behind the stair. But overall I would say (for me) that it was challenging. And beautiful. And remote. And quiet. And soul-stirring. And fun. And challenging. You get the picture. That was a word that was going around my head on the top of most of the peaks.
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Harris itself annoyed me. I think that’s the best word for it. The mausoleum is an oversized brash thing, a testament to one family’s vanity. The majority of people on Rum live around the tiny village of Kinloch which is also the location of the ferry terminal and the first place visitors step foot onto.
There is a certain mystical quality associated with Maol Bhuidhe, a lonesome homestead which lies in the heart of the remote, roadless territory between Glen Carron and Glen Shiel. Although Rum is best explored on a mountain bike, day-trippers on foot will find a number of short walks around the ferry jetty and the village of Kinloch, as well as the beautiful Kinloch Castle.The lodge itself was overgrown with Rhododendron bushes.. very much like some occasional parts of the moors where I live (Marsden, Yorkshire). Victorian landowners had a penchant for planting these shrubs near estate houses. A table and a couple of chairs complete the scene. The larger right hand room has a fireplace and an ancient iron bunk-bed; it is mainly used for wood sawing and storage. Neither room has any insulation, and the bothy can get pretty cold once the stove has gone out. Upstairs is a large area used for sleeping, and a little wood-panelled room at the east end with a small window. Key Attractions: The southern half of Rum is home to the monumental Rum Cuillin Ridge – a mountainous series of peaks that culminates with the Askival Corbett at 2,660 feet. Traversing these ridges is a challenge for even advanced hikers but it has to be one of the most enjoyable ways to experience the island. Climb mountains. Rum is an underrated gem when it comes to mountain hikes thanks to the majestic Rum Cuillin’s which dominate the southern half of the island.
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