Kinloch Castle Daily Tours

This summer, guided tours of the fascinating principle wing of Kinloch Castle take place daily.  They are timed to coincide with the ferry services of Calmac from Mallaig, and the MV Sheerwater from Arisaig, providing guests visiting for the day the opportunity to take the tour.  Please see the Getting Here section for ferry timetable information. Tours take approximately one hour and start from the steps at the front of the castle.  During the tour visitors are welcome to use cameras.  Guidebooks, postcards, and books can be purchased at the end of the tour. 

Booking is not necessary, however, visitors are advised to check ahead of travelling to the island to confirm that a particular tour is taking place.  Please note that tours commence promptly at the times shown below.  If the arrival of the ferry is delayed for any reason, and prevents visitors from reaching the start point on time, it is not possible to join the tour once it has begun.

2013 Summer Tour times:

Monday - 1330 
Tuesday – 1415
Wednesday – 1430
Thursday – 1400
Friday – 1430
Saturday – 1415
Sunday – 1200

Private tours can be arranged oustide of these scheduled time for groups of 10 or more (smaller groups will be charged a minimum of £90.00). For more information on this or to book a private tour please contact us on the details below.

2013 Prices:

Adults    £9
Children (3-12 year olds) £4.50
OAP's/Students £8

Location

Kinloch Castle is a 20 minute walk from the ferry terminal along a flat unsealed road. If you have mobility issues, you can ask the driver of the yellow luggage van if it would be possible to have a lift to Kinloch Castle. This service is free of charge but is only offered to people who have a genuine need as there is limited space in the van. You can call Kinloch Castle Reception for more information on this service.

Contact

Reception
Kinloch Castle
Isle of Rum, PH43 4RR, UK

Phone: 01687 462 037
Email: kinlochcastle@snh.gov.uk

Please note that the reception is not staffed continuously, however, we will attempt to answer all queries as soon as possible.

page updated 15th May 2013

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Walks

Click on the Map of Rum link and zoom in to see the roads and paths across Rum in greater detail.

Short walks

Northside nature trail

Otter hide 

This is a short (30 min) return walk along through Loch Scresort’s southside woods. Starting from the ferry terminal and although initially steep, this is a gentle walk is along a good quality, but unsealed, path and can be enjoyed by all and passes some of the islands initial settlements. The path continues (approx 40min) along past the otter hide to the abandoned settlement of Port na Caranean, but becomes increasingly rough so is better suited to the more adventurous.

Bird/wildlife watching

Although there are no specific areas set aside in Kinloch Village to bird or wildlife watch, you never know what is going to appear where or when, so if you are a keen naturalist it is vital to keep your binoculars to hand. Otters and seals are often seen from the ferry terminal whilst waiting for the Loch Nevis to arrive and time spent sitting and looking around the village can often give some spectacular views of white-tailed (sea) eagle and golden eagle soaring overhead. Walking along the shore road and listening to the eider ducks, oystercatchers and curlew going about their daily routines is also a pleasure to the senses, along with watching our flocks of resident greylag geese flying in and out to feed. For more information on the bird and wildlife of Rum go to our Wildlife section and for info on guided walks and talks see our Ranger section.

**New for 2013 **
Guided Walks now available with Mountain Leader Gav Copland.  Contact brocholme@gmail.com or visit Brocholme Croft facebook page 

Longer walks

Kilmory

Harris

Dibidil

Guirdhil

Rum Cuillin Ridge Walk

Be aware!  
There is NO Mountain Rescue Post on the Isle of Rum. The nearest teams are on Skye and in Lochaber and there will be a considerable delay before any of these teams could be on scene at an incident.

Further Reading and Maps

Click on the image to see the item for sale online.

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Craft shop

Cycling on Rum

Rum is a great place to bring your bicycle and it's free to take them on the ferries! All of the roads on Rum are unsealed so they're more suitable for mountain bikes but people have used road bikes here too. There are about 2 miles of roads around the village and about 11 miles of roads outside the village into the National Nature Reserve. The walking tracks on Rum can be fairly boggy or rocky in places making it very difficult to ride on, so we recommend sticking to the roads.

Click on the Kinloch Village Map to see the roads in the village

Click on the Map of Rum link and zoom in to see the roads on the rest of Rum in greater detail.

Cycling to Harris Bay - 16 miles / 26km return

Harris Bay is on the south west of Rum and there is a 4WD road all the way there. The Harris road is fairly smooth with some rough patches and it's just under 8 miles one way. You take the road out of the village up 2 miles to the crossroads, then take the left branch. It's a gradual climb up, up, up! to the highest point in the road, then it's a brisk freewheel down into Harris Bay. There are great views over the bay and you are likely to see the Rum ponies, red deer, feral goats and the Highland cows. At Harris Bay you will also see the Bullough mausoleums (see the Kinloch Castle section for more info on the Bulloughs) and old farming remains of 'lazy beds' (see the Human History section for info about historic settlements on Rum)

Cycling to Kilmory - 10 miles / 16km return

Kilmory is located on the north coast of Rum and there is a 4WD road that you can take to get there. It's about 5 miles one way and although it's shorter than the road to Harris Bay, the surface is a lot rougher so mountain bikes are highly recommended. You take the road out of the village up 2 miles to the crossroads. Here you take that right branch and go slowly down into Kilmory Glen where you will have lovely views of the Skye Cullin and you will enter the Kilmory Red Deer Project study area so are likely to see many red deer. See the Deer page in the Wildlife section for more information on the project. You will be able to see the old Bullough laundry house and also be rewarded with a lovely sandy beach.

Bike Hire 

For more information on tarriffs please follow this link or e-mail fliss@isleofrum.com

page updated 6th January 2013

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Deer stalking

Details about 2013 deer stalking on Rum will be available later in the year.

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Fishing

Sea and Coast Fishing

No permit is required if responsible fishing is carried out anywhere along the coast.

Loch Fishing

Loch and River Permits are needed between 1st April and 15th Oct.  These are provided free of charge and all we ask in return is that you adhere to the restrictions and return the catch form. 

River fishing

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Boat trips

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