Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum & Tobermory, Isle of Mull

The engines came to life early this morning, as high winds were forecast for the afternoon – and we really wanted to see the Small Isles. These islands are Muck, Eigg, Canna and Rum. David, our expedition leader thought it sounded like a cocktail, so we came up with a recipe: Canna muck e(i)gg with rum?

The isle of Rum is owned by Scottish Natural Heritage, a government body that looks after areas of natural importance. The Rum ponies, related to the ancient horses, as you can see by the stripes on the back of the legs (not on the foals though) were traditionally used to carry the stags off the hills. Two mares and their gorgeous foals were grazing outside Kinloch Castle as we arrived. This Edwardian hunting lodge is like no other castle. The Bullough family, who made their money in the textile mills of Lancashire, had good fun spending it here on Rum. They used to sail to Rum on their yacht Rhouma and only spent a few weeks in summer here. Servants had to be brought on to the island, as the original population had been cleared off to create an income by farming sheep. The castle is opulent to excess, and in dire need of some financial help to keep it watertight.

We then sailed on to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. An otter was playing in the water as we arrived, the same animal posed later during Konia’s walking tour close to the ship and again went about its business on the beach in Tobermory not long after this. Even though the day was a bit damp, everyone went off to enjoy Tobermory, either by themselves or with Konia, or went for a hike with David and Ian. Just as well the houses are so brightly colored, they glow even in a bit of a drizzle. And in the evening after dinner the rain stopped, enticing us out for a walk to one or the other pub.