MMC weekend meet to Rum, 2 – 4th May 2009
Rum was nothing like I expected. I have always understood it to be a nature reserve with no permanent local community, solely inhabited by the deer keeper who lives in a little lodge at Kilmory Bay, and only a small number of visitors. However as we came of the 7.30am Mallaig ferry named ‘Lochnevis’ on Saturday morning I was surprised to see a handful of houses along the track to the campsite and castle, and a great number of visitors. Through the living room window of one of the houses a little girl watched us walk past with an expression of only mild interest, as if she thought: “here’s another bunch of b****y tourist, I wonder how long this lot will stay”... The local community amounts to about 30 individuals, and the island attracts visitors with various interests, from hill walkers and climbers to naturalists and historians.
Rum, also spelled Rhum by some – the ‘h’ an addition by its Victorian landowner Sir George Bullough because he didn't want the island associated with the alcholic drink – comes from the Norse Röm, öe meaning wide, spacious inland and pronounced ‘Room’. The names of the Rum Cuillin hills are also mainly Norse. There is no evidence of Viking settlement on Rum, but the hills functioned as landmarks for passing ships.
In 1983 stone flakes and an arrowhead were ploughed up from a field at the head of Loch Scresort. These finds led to the discovery of the earliest known Mesolithic settlement in Scotland which according to the carbon-dating of burnt hazelnuts is nearly 9000 years old. Following Norse domination, in 1266 Rum became part of the Kingdom of Scotland.
Rum came into possession of the Macleans of Coll in 1695. In the late 18th century, the island was populated by 59 families or 445 individuals. The ruins of old townships can still be seen in Kilmory and Harris, and the remains of shielings can be found slightly further inland. Cattle prices fell after the Napoleonic Wars and in response Alexander Maclean decided to clear his tenants and introduce sheep. By 1827 the majority of the natives had been forced to emigrate to Nova Scotia. The cost of this subsidised clearance was recouped within two years from the rent MacLean received from the sheep farmer (Hunter, 1999, p.267).
Maclean built Kinloch house, however when his sheep did not ensure him the economic success he expected, he emigrated to Australia. In 1845 Alexander’s son sold Rum to the 2nd Marquis of Salisbury who according to Victorian fashion turned the island into a sporting estate. The marquis’s son was responsible for a second clearance in 1857. In 1869 the island was sold to the eccentric Bulloughs.
It was his son George who decided to build Kinloch castle. He selected workmen from Lancashire, and in true romantic Highland fashion gave them each a kilt to wear. The red sandstone was shipped from Arran, and the soil for the gardens and trees from Ayrshire. “The castle was spupplied with every ‘mod con’, the laundry was discreetly situated at Kilmory, eight miles off, the first home electrical generator was installed from the Allt Slugan... The population rose to about 100, just to keep one family comfortable on their periodic visits” (Brown, 1988, p.41.). It is said that George wanted his castle to have the exact measurements as the Bullough yacht Rhouma, which was used as a hospital ship in the Boer war, so he could take the exact number of steps in his new home as on his ship. However this was impossible and in the end was achieved by the creation of a great castle garden wall. Sir George died in 1939, and in 1957 Lady Bullough sold the estate to the Nature Conservancy Council, the forerunner of Scottish Natural Heritage. She was laid to rest in the family mausoleum, built at Harris and in the style of a Greek temple, in 1967. The tile vault which preceded it was destroyed at it was said to remind visitors of public toilets. Bits of this can still be seen on the bank behind the lodge.
11 of the MMC members stayed in the hostel, which is located in Kinloch Castle. It has also a cosy bar, with its own very intelectual and happy looking deer... I don't like stuffed animals very much, and find heads hanging on a wall particularly distasteful, but this deer was in a strange way nice company... I wonder what that says about me!
Saturday 2nd Rum Cuillin
The weather forecast for Rum was: Saturday: rain showers, Sunday: heavy rain, Monday: heavy, heavy rain. So according to this Saturday was the best day to do big things.
John, Richard and I left Kinloch campsite at 10.30am. As the sun was shining bright, we decided to make the most of it and do a hill or two. We followed the Dibidil pony track for about 1.5km and then headed across the moor, over a rock outcrop with good slabs and across the Cnapan Breaca up to Hallival (722m/2365ft). Nice scramble to the summit. After a bit of lunch on its south side, with a nice view of Askival (812m/2659ft), we contemplated doing a few more hills on the way.
There was again nice scrambling on the Askival ‘pinnacle’, Rum’s highest hill, although this could be avoided by an easier route on the east if preferred. The hill is covered with holes dug by Shearwaters for their nests. We did not linger at the top; the weather had turned wet and very windy with no views whatsoever, so after a quick groups photo we made our way down the west ridge to the Pass of Gold, Bealach an Oir.
By this time we had decided that as we had done two hills already and it was still only early afternoon, we might as well do another top. We decided to skirt Trollaval and headed straight for the Bealach an Fhuaran (Pass of Springs) and up to Ainshval and Sgurr nan Gillean (764m/2503ft). Our initial plan was to drop down to Dibidil and return to the campsite along the pony track, however calculated that it would be shorted to return to the Bealach an Oir and descend into the Atlantic Corrie and make our way home across the moors. We did Trollabhal on the way back, as although the weather had worsened and we were met by more rain and hailstones, it seemed silly not to have done the whole ridge (as we were there anyway). This turned out a great decision because climbing Trollabhal from the south side allows for some great scrambling. We descended down into the Atlantic Corrie (where we saw some wild goats) and Glen Harris, over the west side of Barkeval, alongside Loch Long and joined the pony track in Kinloch Glen to Kinloch. An eagle soared over the west flank of Barkeval; a sight which made the long slog home much more interesting, and we arrived back at the campsite at 9pm, all very hungry but mainly content.
Sunday 3rd May 2009
Low-level walk with Andy to Kilmory Bay. We met a few red deer herds along the way, particularly near the bay. Red deer were re-introduced to the island in 1845 and are studied for conservation and management purposes by Scottish Natural Heritage. The culling of deer ceased in 1972, and as a result there are about 200 adult female deer today.
Murdo Matheson
In memory of
His beloved children
Rebecca who died Sept 1873
Aged 17 years
John who died Sept 1873
Aged 12 years
Christina Ann who died Sept 1873
Aged 8 years
Mordo who died Sept 1873
William John who died Sept 1873
Aged 4 years
All of which died of diphtheria between the 7th and 9th of September, 18732
Archibald Duncan who died .... 187?
Aged 7 months
....
The sun stayed out for us most of the day, while we could see dark clouds and rain hanging over the hills. It was as if we had entered ‘tickfest’, so we did not hang about very long and I was happy to get back on the track. Monday morning was very wet so we went to the Village Hall for a bite to eat and spend our time playing darts and pool until it was time to take the tent down and head for the Ferry back to Mallaig.
Again a very good weekend in very good company!
Bibliography:
Brown, H.M (1988) The Island of Rhum: A guide for walkers, climbers and visitors. Cicerone Press, Cumbria.
Hunter, J. (1999) Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh.
.JPG)
