Harris

We have been looking forward to our long walk to Harris, another former village on the west side of Rùm. This took us through the ‘bleak interior’, 13km each way from and back to the main village of Kinloch, where we’re staying at the bunkhouse.

Harris and surrounds are simply stunning, with jagged cliffs of rocks, a plethora of seabirds, wonderful blue waters, grassy slopes fringed by hills, two isolated cottages and a herd of ponies that a farrier was tending to.

The strangest and highly incongruous thing in Harris is a mausoleum built by the aristocratic Bullough family who formerly owned the island. The first incarnation was dynamited after the family heard someone slight its appearance, and the second was done in an ostentatious Grecian style. This tale indicates how Rùm’s history has been controlled by the rich and wealthy, as I imagine has that of most Scottish islands. Many landowners treated the islands as playgrounds and the inhabitants with disdain. Harris was a relatively large community cleared in 1826, with most inhabitants boarding ships for Nova Scotia.

Before walking back to Kinloch Michelle had found a lovely area of rocks overlooking the sea. We disturbed an oystercatcher by accident so occupied its space, relaxing in the sun for a while (as pictured). To refuel during the walk we feasted on focaccia baked on Rùm, with a view over a mountain lake.

From our experience in remote national parks and conservation areas we remarked that the community on Rùm has a similar feel. It’s quite a closed system with a mix of personalities and can have a funny dynamic with outsiders and in its relationship with the wider world.

The service in the island store is taciturn at best, but we picked up a big bag of Cadbury’s Roses for £1 (‘out of date but people say they taste ok’, shrugged the shopkeeper). There is a small catering business on the island which has been affected by Covid regulations and ferry restrictions. Through it we ordered nice platefuls of venison stew and mash, and listened to some of the challenges people face here. If the reduced seats on the Small Isles ferry are booked up by people getting off first at Eigg, then no one will come to Rùm. As with everything else, it’s communities in the most precarious situations that are most affected by policies and decisions taken elsewhere.