UNIQUE COTTAGES

Rùm

Like Skye, Rùm is dominated by its Cuillin, which, though only reaching a height of 2663ft at the summit of Askival, rises up with comparable drama straight up from the sea in the south of the island. Rùm's chief formal attraction is Kinloch Castle (guided tours most days at 2pm; £3), a squat red sandstone edifice fronted by colonnades and topped by crenellations and turrets, that dominates the village of Kinloch. Completed at enormous expense in 1900 - the red sandstone was shipped in from Arran and the soil for the gardens from Ayrshire - its interior is a perfectly preserved example of Edwardian decadence, "a living memorial of the stalking, the fishing and the sailing, the tenantry and plenty of the days before 1914". From the galleried hall, with its tiger rugs, stags' heads and giant Japanese incense burners, to the "Extra Low Fast Cushion" of the Soho snooker table in the Billiard Room, the interior is packed with knick-knacks and technical gizmos accumulated by Sir George Bullough (1870-1939), the spendthrift son of self-made millionaire Sir John Bullough, who bought the island as a sporting estate in 1888. As such, it was only really used for a few weeks each autumn, during the "season", yet employed an island workforce of one hundred all year round. Bullough's guests were woken at eight each morning by a piper; later on, an orchestrion, an electrically driven barrel organ (originally destined for Balmoral) crammed in under the stairs, would grind out an eccentric mixture of pre-dinner tunes - The Ride of the Valkyries and Ma Blushin' Rosie among others; a demo is included in the tour. The ballroom has a sprung floor, the library features a gruesome photographic collection from the Bulloughs' world tours, but the pièce de résistance has to be Bullough's Edwardian bathrooms, whose baths have hooded walnut shower cabinets, fitted with two taps and four dials, which allow the bather to fire high-pressure water at their body from every angle.

For those with limited time or energy, there are two gentle waymarked heritage trails, both of which start from Kinloch and take around two hours to complete. For longer walks, you must fill in route cards and pop them into the White House (Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm), where the reserve manager can give useful advice. The island's best beach is at KILMORY, to the north (5hr round-trip), though this part of the island is only open to the public on the weekend as it's given over to the study of red deer; it's also closed completely in June, during calving, and October, during rutting. When the island's human head count peaked at 450 in 1791, the hamlet of HARRIS on the southwest coast (6hr round-trip) housed a large crofting community; all that remains now are several ruined blackhouses and the extravagant Bullough Mausoleum, built by Sir George to house the remains of his father in the style of a Greek Doric temple, overlooking the sea.

You need to book accommodation in advance. There's just one B&B on the island, Ferry Cottage (tel 01687/462767; under £40; Easter-Oct), in Kinloch, with only one twin room with shared facilities. Kinloch Castle was a luxury hotel until the early 1990s, and still lets a few of its four-poster rooms (£70-90), but it's basically run as an independent hostel (tel 01687/462037), with dormitories in the old servants' quarters and a farmhouse bothy (March-Oct). SNH also run two simple mountain bothies (three nights maximum stay), in Dibidil and Guirdil, and basic camping on the foreshore near the jetty; book ahead by contacting the reserve manager at the White House (tel 01687/462026). Wherever you're staying, you can either do self-catering - hostellers can use the hostel kitchen - or eat the unpretentious food offered in the hostel's licensed bistro. There is also a small shop/off-licence/post office in Kinloch. Bear in mind that Rùm is the wettest of the Small Isles, and is known for having some of the worst midges in Scotland - come prepared for both.

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