Walking on Rum and the Small Isles. Peter Edwards

Guirdil to the west (Walk 3, Day 3)

      Introduction

      On the Dibidil pony path, with Sgurr nan Gillean dominating the horizon (Walk 3, Day 1)

      Rum is by far the largest of the Small Isles, and at some 100 square kilometres and 14km (8½ miles) north to south by 13.5km (8½ miles) east to west is the 15th largest of the Scottish islands. It is the wettest and arguably the most mountainous island of its size in Britain. Its striking profile of jagged basalt and gabbro mountain peaks testifies to its volcanic origins. Rum’s highest peaks, Askival (812m) and Ainshval (781m), are Corbetts – those Scottish mountains between 2500 and 3000 feet (762m and 914m) with a relative height of at least 500ft (152m): Rum is the smallest Scottish island to have a summit over 762m (2500ft).

      Kinloch, the island’s only settlement, is at the head of Loch Scresort, the main anchorage, some 27km west of Mallaig and the Morar peninsula on the mainland. Rum is 11km (7 miles) south of Skye at its nearest point and 23km (14 miles) north-west of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Rum has a tiny population – around 30 – and when the village of Kinloch is left behind a true sense of remoteness is soon found amid the island’s wild, dramatic and sometimes challenging landscape. The only other habitations, besides the bothies at Dibidil and Guirdil, are the red deer research base at Kilmory Bay and the Scottish National Heritage (SNH) lodge at Harris.

      Rum ponies at Harris (Walk 3, Day 2 and Walk 7)

      The distinctive volcanic chain of hills comprising the Rum Cuillin is the obvious and immediate draw for outdoor enthusiasts, whether for hill walking, scrambling or rock climbing. A round of the Rum Cuillin makes for a challenging day in the hills and usually features somewhere on the ‘to-do’ list of Scottish mountain aficianados.

      But for the adventurous walker there is much more to Rum than the Cuillin. This guidebook includes detailed route descriptions for five major walks – including a three-day walk around the coast and circular routes around the remote western hills – and several shorter routes.

      Land Rover tracks cross the island from Kinloch to Kilmory and Harris, and there are several long-established footpaths, including the well worn track up the Allt Slugan to the Coire Dubh – gateway to the Rum Cuillin – and the pony path around the coast from Kinloch to Dibidil bothy and Papadil. Other areas lack distinct paths, necessitating detailed route descriptions and mapping – all the more so as Rum is exceptionally prone to cloud cover, with associated implications for navigation. Walking conditions on Rum are often wet and rough: it is essential that walkers are properly prepared and equipped.

      Staying on Rum

      Rum’s community is undergoing a period of change with the phased transfer of assets from Scottish Natural Heritage to the Isle of Rum Community Trust. The Trust now owns around 35 hectares of land and 11 residential properties in and around Kinloch, and is tasked with managing community land and assets for the community and the visiting public, alongside promoting sustainable rural regeneration.

      As a result the accommodation situation is in a period of flux, and it is worth checking the Isle of Rum website well in advance of a visit to see what is available: www.isleofrum.com. Accommodation provision at the time of writing can be found in Appendix B.

      Geology

      Looking from Askival to Trollaval (right) and Ainshval (left), with Ruinsival beyond (Walk 1) (photo: Peter Khambatta)

      The Rum Cuillin forms the impressive skyline of jagged peaks dominating the south of the island. The northern peaks of the range are principally formed of peridotite basalt and gabbro, similar in construction to the Black Cuillin of Skye. The southern peaks are Torridonian sandstone capped with quartz-felsite and Lewisian gneiss, and the rounded granite hills of Ard Nev, Orval, Sròn an t-Saighdeir, Fionchra and the lava-capped summit of Bloodstone Hill are in the island’s west.

      Rum is the core of a volcano that developed on a pre-existing structure of Torridonian sandstone and shales resting on Lewisian Gneiss. Volcanic activity 65 million years ago formed a dome over a kilometre high and several kilometres across. Pressure from below caused fractures to form around the dome, which collapsed, forming a caldera. The caldera floor was gradually covered by rocks and debris, consisting largely of Torridonian sandstone and Lewisian gneiss, which was compressed, forming rocks known as breccias, found in Coire Dubh. The vestiges of the dome are evident on the slopes of the Rum Cuillin, where the Torridonian rocks incline steeply away from the adjacent igneous rocks.

      Weathered Torridonian sandstone formation near Kilmory Bay, north-east Rum (Walk 3, Day 3 and Walk 7)

      Magma, ash and rock erupted into the caldera, along with gas clouds known as pyroclastic flows which formed rocks known as rhyodacites, found around the margins of the Rum Cuillin and on the ridge between the summits of Ainshval and Sgùrr nan Gillean.

      The western hills, including Orval and Ard Nev, are predominantly composed of coarse-grained granites formed from magma that crystallised below the Earth’s surface. The Rum Cuillin is mostly composed of layers of pale, hard gabbro interspersed with brown, crumbly peridotite, rocks created from cooling magma at the base of the magma chamber, especially on Hallival and Askival. There are some outcrops of the pre-volcanic Lewisian gneiss near Dibidil in the south-east corner of the island, and extensive Torridonian sandstone is found in the north and east.

      Basalt dikes are found on the north-west coast between Kilmory and Guirdil: erosion of the less-resistant rock into which they are intruded has left them exposed as natural walls. They tend to radiate out from a point in Glen Harris, which suggests that this was the centre of volcanic activity. Bloodstone Hill was formed by lava flowing away from this volcanic centre; gas bubbles in the rock filled with heated silica, which cooled to form green agate flecked with red, hence the name ‘bloodstone'.

      The last major glaciation of the Quartenary Ice Age began about 30,000 years ago, when glaciers covered the island and the tops of the highest mountains protruded through the ice as ‘nunataks'. Frost-shattering created scree slopes on these summits, and freeze-thaw processes have sorted rock particles into remarkable regular patterns such as the stone stripes and polygons near the summit of Orval.

      The ice sheets retreated around 10,000BC. During glacial periods sea levels dropped, rising again when the glaciers melted. The landmass sank under the weight of the ice cap, then rose again as the ice retreated. The land continued to rise beyond the maximum increase in sea level, forming the raised beaches found around the coastline 12–30m above the present sea level, especially between Harris and A'Bhrideanach.

      Tundra vegetation gave way to forest. The climate warmed 6000 years ago, encouraging forestation to a higher altitude than at present, before becoming cooler and damper around 1000BC, and peat expanded at the expense of woodland. A dearth of cultivable land also led to woodland clearance by early farming communities.

      History

      Kinloch Castle

      Mankind probably first reached parts of Scotland during the mild phases of the last glacial periods of the Quartenary Ice Age, but retreated as the climate deteriorated. All traces of Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) settlement were obliterated by the ice sheets during the subsequent glaciation. Archaeological evidence established the existence of Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) settlement in some areas of Scotland from around 6500BC, with hunter-gatherers in seasonal occupation as early as 10,500BC on the fringes of the retreating ice sheet.

      Traces