Skye and the Small Isles - The Rough Guide to Scotland - page 494

Kinloch Castle
Kinloch • March-Oct guided tours coincide with the ferry • £9 • T 01687 462037
Rùm's chief attraction is Kinloch Castle , a squat, red sandstone edifice. Built at huge
expense in 1900, its interior is a perfectly preserved example of Edwardian decadence.
It's also appealingly bonkers. From the galleried hall, with its tiger rugs, stags' heads
and giant Japanese incense burners, to the Soho snooker table in the Billiard Room,
the interior is packed with technical gizmos accumulated by Sir George Bullough
(1870-1939), the spendthrift son of self-made millionaire, Sir John Bullough, who
bought the island as a sporting estate in 1888.

13

Bullough Mausoleum
When the island's head count peaked at 450 in 1791, the hamlet of HARRIS on the
southwest coast, a three-hour walk from Kinloch, housed a crofting community. All
that remains are ruined blackhouses, which makes the Neoclassical Bullough
Mausoleum all the more extraordinary. It was built by Sir George for his father and is
actually the second family mausoleum here: the first was lined with Italian marble, but
dynamited after a friend remarked that it looked like a public lavatory.

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION RÙM

By ferry The longest day-trip possibilities from Mallaig are on
Sat (11hr). Note that overnight visitors cannot bring dogs, but
day-trippers can. Summer timetables are: Arisaig-Rùm (Tues,
Thurs & Sat 1 daily; 2hr 30min); Canna-Rùm (Mon, Wed, Fri &

Sat 1 daily; 55min); Eigg-Rùm (Mon & Sat 1 daily; 1-3hr
30min); Mallaig-Rùm (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 1 daily; 1hr
20min-2hr 30min); Muck-Rùm (Sat 1 daily; 1hr 10min).
Tourist information W isleofrum.com.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Wild camping is permitted and there are two simple bothies (three nights maximum) in Dibidil, on the southeast coast,
and Guirdil, on the northwest coast. You'll find a shop/post o ce/off-licence in Kinloch , beside the community hall, which
serves teas and snacks (April-Sept Mon-Sat noon-4pm).

Ivy Cottage Kinloch E [e-mail], T 01687
462744. Delivers loch views from two pleasant en-suite
rooms and the conservatory where you breakfast, plus a
relaxed atmosphere in this, the first B&B on Rùm, in a
modern house on the loch in front of the castle. Its young
owners prep are dinners for guests and non-residents on
request. £90
Kinloch Campsite T 01687 460328. A community-run
campsite with an appealing location spread along the
shore on the south side of Kinloch bay. Also on site are four

tiny, ins ula ted camping cabins with four beds each.
Camping £5 /person, cabins for two £20
Kinloch Castle Hostel T 01687 462037. This hostel
was in transition on our last visit; dormitories have
moved to timber-clad Portakabins on the lawn before a
new bunkhouse is built by the campsite (by around
2015). It currently has four-bed rooms (one bunk, two
singles ) plus a shared kitchen and lounge. April-Oct.
Dorms £18.50

Eigg
Eigg - which measures just five miles by three - does little to conceal its volcanic origins.
It is made of a basalt plateau and a great stump of pitchstone lava, known as An Sgurr, rises
in the south. Active geology aside, Eigg is by far the most vibrant of the Small Isles, with a
strong sense of community among the hundred residents. his was given an enormous
boost in 1997 when they (alongside the Scottish Wildlife Trust) pulled off the first buy-out
of a Highlands estate, thereby ending Eigg's unhappy history of private ownership, most
recently by Keith Schellenberg, an Olympic bob-sleigher and motor magnate. he
anniversary is celebrated with an all-night ceilidh on the weekend nearest June 12.

Galmisdale
Ferries arrive into Galmisdale Bay , in the southeast corner of the island. If time is
limited, you could head up through woods for superb sea views, or track the shore