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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. From Kinloch, there are two gravel roads and one footpath that wind their way across the island, with the roads providing easy access to the west and north coasts, and the footpath offering a slightly more taxing gateway into the Cuillin mountains. An artist,photographer and surveyor, he is alsoa maintenance officer for Dibidil – aMountain Bothy Association’s bothy onthe Isle of Rùm – and your perfect guideto exploring Scotland’s wild places. So after some soul searching and rather than joining the the ascent of Ainshval from Bealach an Fhuarain with the rest of the guys, I decided to head down the wide , glacier-scraped valley below us and aim for Dibidil Bothy. Entered through a small internal lobby, the one-room apartment is effectively an independent, well-finished, and very snug little bothy in itself, with its own hearth and a sleeping platform running the length of one wall. A small stonewalled outbuilding with a window in its west end has been constructed on the north side of the apartment. Key Attractions:
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.Longer walks through Rum’s beautiful surroundings are possible thanks to wild camping being permitted on the island as well as access to two bothies in Guirdhil and Dibidil. Wildlife Watching: Rum is home to a diverse array of wildlife. From majestic red deer to playful otters and a multitude of bird species, nature lovers will be in heaven on this island. Guided wildlife tours (April to October) offer an opportunity to learn more about these animals as well as catch sight of rarities like white-tailed and golden eagles. Jam is where it all began! Our Jam Bothy range of jam is created by hand in small batches using local Scottish fruit, just like our gin.
The bothy is the byre to a ruined house that lies close by, once an outpost of a large sheep farm that operated as part of the Loch Eil Estate from the mid-19th century. The last inhabitants, the Camerons, moved to Strathan during World War II, yet sheep continued to graze in Glen Kingie until the 1990s.Concealed in a small clearing within the extensive Eskmuirdale forest, on the northern side of the picturesque Eskdale Valley, Greensykes is a great place to escape the relentless pace of the modern world for a while, much like its near neighbour the Samye Ling Tibetan monastery located just over the hill.
Location: Northern Highlands - LAT/LONG 58.2281, -4.9468, NC 271 305, 11m, LR Map 15, Explorer Map 442 The study is still ongoing today and many of the island’s permanent residents are involved with it, whether actively employed by Nature Scot or working as part-time volunteers. Rest assured it is a wonderful balance between brown sugar and complex tasting notes (as a previous review has stated - like cloves, nutmeg, and warmth from saffron) that you might expect from two different styles of rum. It’s very, very scenic though, and it has an otherworldly beauty that guarantees it will stay in your memory for a long time. A traverse of Corbetts Beinn a’ Chumhainn (903m), and Sgòr Choinnich (929m) and Sgòr Gaibhre (955m) is another fine round.
Glencoul Bothy
The Rum Cuillin provide one of the finest but most demanding hill circuits in all Scotland; an unsurpassed combination of mountain and sea with unforgettable views. The route is extremely arduous; whilst the scrambling is mostly straightforward, careful route finding is essential - the route is also very committing with few escape options. It covers the 5 major summits on Rum, including 2 Corbetts and a Fiona. Terrain As mentioned, the plan was to cross all of the Cuillins, reaching the highest point at 812m (I believe) on top of Askival. As it happened we ‘skipped’ Barkeval so we could get to the bigger peaks sooner. Now it has reverted to a wild wood as it were, with shrubs / trees growing through the lodge windows and doors.
But even so, they didn’t hang about and I was only able to watch them for a few minutes before they all disappeared over the hills. Harris itself annoyed me. I think that’s the best word for it. The mausoleum is an oversized brash thing, a testament to one family’s vanity. The cottage was built during the mid- 19th century and its name derives from the Gaelic, bhuidhe meaning ‘yellow’ and maol, ‘bald-headed’ or ‘rounded place’. From the bothy door enjoy stunning views of the mountain ridge extending from Corbett Sgùrr an Fhuarain (901m) to one of the most remote Munros, Sgùrr Mòr (1,003m). From the dam, it’s possible to head further south to the Rum Cuillin’s on a well-worn mountain trail that crosses five of Rum’s six mountain peaks. However, at around 12 hours it’s a hike that will be impossible for day-trippers.I should mention that getting photos on the last 2 days (we had a 4 day trip in all) was thanks to a solar charger thing I bought recently. I’ve done a kit review as it really worked out well. (see separate post). The guest book tells of the regular visits of deer down to the seashore. We did have a couple appear at twilight but they stayed behind the bothy , not straying onto the beach itself. But I think there is (or was) a stag called Brutus (if I remember the name rightly) who is a beach comber on occasion. While planning my short visit to Rum I spent a good amount of time poring over my trusty OS Map (which proved invaluable during my visit – get your map here) and eventually decided on an itinerary I could comfortably fit into six hours. The landscape breaks away into patches of woodland near Kilmory and it’s in this area where I saw the majority of the island’s famed red deer, perhaps because of the safety the nearby trees offered them. A visit to the spectacular 200m waterfall Eas a’ Chual Aluinn (waterfall of the beautiful tresses), the highest in the UK, is a must.