And once we were down at lower levels and I could stop-with-the-fear-already, the sense of remoteness, beauty and tranquillity won through. I would happily hermitage at either of the Bothies (is that the right use of the word?) for a few weeks. Fishing pots at Guirdil Bothy. Part of Bloodstone Hill over to the right rearing above the bothy. A map of Rum and some info on the MBA and how the bothy came to be made interesting reading. http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/ Evening on Guirdil beach, great sunset albeit a tad chilly Steve tends the seaweed fire at Guirdil Bothy. And looking pretty stern with all that responsibility too. Location: Northern Highlands - LAT/LONG 58.2281, -4.9468, NC 271 305, 11m, LR Map 15, Explorer Map 442 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.

Like pretty much everywhere else on the west coast of Scotland, Rum can be plagued by fierce clouds of biting midges. Excellent base for an ascent of Lochnagar (1,150m) and there is an impressive waterfall en route to the summit from the bothy. 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.Most notably, these included three spirits, each of which received the maximum 3 star accreditation from the 355 judges, who attended 86 days of socially-distanced judging in London and Dorset, and included food writer Xanthe Clay and Kavi Thakrar, founder of Dishoom. There’s a lot to like about the Isle of Rum. From the pretty surroundings of Loch Scresort at the ferry terminal to the dramatic mountain peaks of the Cuillin Ridge to the south, this is an island that’s begging to be explored. The idea was to head off from Kinloch (where the ferry comes in) and walk across the mountains of Barkeval, Hallival, Askival, Trollaval, Ainshval and Sgurr nan Gillean. Well, for a number of reasons actually, the first being it’s one of the best places in Scotland for wildlife watching.

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.Location: North West Highlands - LAT/LONG 57.3722, -5.2405, NH 052 360, 261m, LR Map 25, Explorer 429

Rum National Nature Reserve: The entire reserve is a paradise for nature lovers. It covers most of the island and is home to a vast range of wildlife from rare plants to otters, as well as red deer which are the focus of the world’s longest-running scientific study. History Note. The bothy originally would have been a shepherd’s cottage dating around the late 19th Century. Following the clearances (1825-28), the island was used for large-scale sheep farming, with some 10,000 sheep by about 1880, Guirdil being one of several hirsels on the island. It is not clear when the sheep were cleared and Guirdil abandoned. It may have been from 1914-18, when most of the younger men, horses and ponies left to fight in the Great War and never returned. 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 as impressive as Kinloch Castle is, the best reason to visit Rum is to simply set off and explore it. After chaining my bike against a fence post (I admit I didn’t need to chain it on this island, but I live in Edinburgh and old habits die hard), I pressed ahead on foot to climb partway up the 2,300-foot summit of Hallival.