We did not want to spend Easter on Eigg.

Ian and I had enjoyed an excellent luncheon on Camas Sgiotaig at the NW corner of Eigg but it was now time to paddle the remote west and SW coasts of this lovely isle. In the winter this surf beach has dangerous surf breaking for weeks on end. We were keen to move on as we did not want to spend Easter on Eigg. Fortunately a wait was rewarded with a relatively calm spell and we both launched safely.

Although the sun threatened to break through...

...the fog lowered again and we could only see the lower reaches of Eigg. Of the classic view NW to Rum and her Cuillin mountains there was not a trace.

As we paddled across the Bay of Laig, we caught sight of Lageorna, where we had arranged to stay the night.

As we continued the wind dropped to nothing...

...and the only sound was...

...the rumble of the surf breaking...

...along the base of the cliffs.

The rock architecture on this coast of Eigg is superb...

...and the fog added to the atmospheric conditions by...

...lifting like a veil; revealing the splendor bit...

...by bit.

The basalt and pitchstone upper rocks sit on a bed...

 ...of more ancient sedimentary rocks. Fossilised tropical trees have been found below the edges of this volcanic layer.

We had hoped to see the iconic pitchstone ridge of the Sgurr of Eigg but it remained hidden by the mist.

Our main concern during this change of plan was that we would meet an adverse tide in the Sound of Eigg.

However, despite it being springs, we met no tidal current whatsoever and soon arrived at the old pier of Glamisdale. As we pulled our kayaks up the jetty we thought we were alone but two youngsters ran down out of the mist. "Are you the Canoe Boys?" "Sue says she is just shutting the shop but she will wait till you get ready and run you up to the B&B!"

Hatching a cracking plan on Eigg.

 We left Rum with the fog swirling round the foothills of the Cuillin.

Ahead in the murk the Island of Eigg lay 9km ahead of us and  for a long time we paddled using GPS, and compass. We were bound for Camas Sgiotaig at the north west end of the island.

 Eventually the mist lifted and we could make out the outline of Eigg...

 ...to the south west lay Rubha an Fhasaidh while...

 ...to the north east Sgorr Sgaileach...

... caught the sun.

 The silence of the open crossing was replaced by the crash and roar of the surf as we approached Eigg...

 Fortunately there was a pattern of bigger sets followed by a quieter period. So we waited for the right moment then...

 ...made a run into the beach. The spume was hanging heavily in the air and it was a relief...

 ...to be able to walk up the beach without having been trashed in the surf.

It was while we were having second luncheon on the rock slabs below the towering ramparts of Dunan Thalasgair that we hatched our plan. Our original intention had been to paddle down to the next sandy bay... Bay of Laig and leave the kayaks there and walk up to the B&B at Lageorna situated in the township of Cleadale.

Howeve,r the size of the surf breaking on the reefs made us concerned in case we were trapped by a rise in the swell overnight. So we decided to take advantage of the light wind and paddle all the way to the south of the island and leave the kayaks at the jetty in Galmisdale then walk the 7km back to Cleadale. The big advantage of this plan would be a guaranteed easy launch the following day and it would leave us close enough to Muck that a near circumnavigation would be possible before nightfall.

A Double Dutch and a Rum on the rocks please.

Ian and I set off on the third day of our Small Isles adventure from Loch Scresort on Rum. We soon passed the Scottish Natural Heritage otter hide (hidden away in the trees). Strangely enough this was one of the few places where we didn't see otters!

 At the mouth of Loch Scresort we passed the sad remains of Port na Caraneon.

The original crofters who were mostly based in the better lands of Harris in the west of Rum were cleared by about 1828 when this village of black houses was built. These were built by people who had been cleared from Skye but were brought here to work sheep on the island. Sheep were never profitable on Rum and the village was abandoned in 1850 when the lands of Rum were turned over to deer and it became a shooting estate for the entertainment of wealthy gentlemen from afar.

Paddling along the SE coast of Rum the fog thickened then we heard a lot high speed (but incomprehensible to our ears) radio communications on VHF channel 16. Ian thought it was Dutch. The MV Loch Nevis appeared on the visit to Rum but moving slowly behind her was the  Hnlms Groningen, a Holland class offshore patrol vessel. She had a RIB out and was clearly involved in some sort of exercise.

Then the fog thickened further and a sinister outline slowly loomed out of the grey. She was the Hnlms Johan De Witt, a Dutch LPD ship (landing platform dock) of some 16,500 tons. She was moving very slowly so Ian tried to raise her on the VHF but she was not answering. Later we discovered she didn't have her AIS switched on either. She didn't switch AIS on till several days later when she suddenly reappeared in the middle of the Irish Sea prior to a courtesy visit to Liverpool.

Ian and I really didn't fancy crossing the Sound of Rum to Eigg in thick fog while two non communicative naval vessels were exercising in mid channel so we set off down the coast of Rum, passing...

 ...several otters, under imposing headlands until...

 ...we came to a break in the rocks at the lovely Bagh na h-Uamha.

Ian got his VHF out and climbed up high above the beach to try and make contact with our Dutch visitors whose rumbling engines still echoed round the cliffs.

My knee was a bit sore as I had dislocated it on the castle stairs earlier that day, so I was content to sit on the Rum rocks rock eating lunch and soak in the beauty of this lovely place until Ian returned.

Ian (who is a ship's communications professional) had been unable to raise either of the Dutch ships on VHF..."It was like trying to talk to a stone" he said... so we enjoyed an extended luncheon while the sound of their engines and their radio silence gradually faded down the Sound. 

Nothing beats the feel of lion fur on a bare bum on Rum.

We awoke on the third day of our Small Isles adventure to find banks of fog and mist rolling round the hills of Rum.

 Our home for the night had been the Edwardian pile of Kinloch Castle. It was built between 1897 and 1900...

...by Sir George Bullough who spent his father's fortune on it. The red sandstone was imported from Annan in Dumfriesshire and 500,000 tons of topsoil from Ayrshire were imported for the castle's Japanese garden and golf course. It cost about 0£15 million at today's prices.

We took breakfast in the servants' dining room. Abby cooked an amazing "Full Scottish" breakfast that contained more than enough calories to propel us over the Sea of the Hebrides to our next destination, the island of Eigg. Speaking of Eigg, we met Alastair from Eigg over fried eggs and we were delighted to hear that his wife Sue would be happy to open her B&B Lageorna for us that night.

Abby now kindly took Ian and I on a conducted tour of the castle. We made our way down the servants' corridor past this old coin operated phone with "press button A then press button B" technology.

We mow entered the main wing of the castle. The corridor was adorned by antlers and...

 ...tarpon which Sir George had caught from his steam yacht Rhouma.

The galleried hall.

In fact the whole castle is stuffed with things that once rutted, crawled, swam,...

...flew...

...or roared.

Kinloch Castle's shooting books record days of hunting. On September the third 1925, Sir George Bullough killed a 7 point stag weighing 14 stone and 4 lbs on Kilmory hill with a 0.303 inch rifle. He was assisted by his stalker MacLeod.

Another of Sir George's prizes was his wife Lady Monica or Monique Lily de la Pasture. Depending who you believe, Sir George may or may not have also liked the company of men

Whatever, Lady Monica liked to while away the hours drinking tea while sitting butt naked on the lion skin in the great hall. The painting is known as either "Nude on a skin" or "Lady drinking tea". It is by Louis Galliac.

The island of Rum is a rum old place. Most people associate it with the sea eagle but there are other eagles to be found on the island. On one of his trips on his yacht, SY Rhouma, George Bullough visited Japan and became friends with the Emperor. Sir George bought this bronze monkey eating eagle...

...with two matching incense burners, each topped by lesser eagles. He packed them away in a nook somewhere on Rhouma and brought them back to Kinloch Castle as souvenirs of his Far Eastern travels.

This snug fireplace is in one corner of the great hall and just in case you were wondering...

...yes the piano is a Steinway.

The hall also has a fine gallery which we will come back to in a moment.

The Sy Rhouma's bell sits on the hall table and round the...

The Dining Room.

...dining table, her....

...chairs grace the dining room. The chairs swivel so that diners may more easily leave the table.
.

The lower dining room walls feature fine mahogany panelling while the upper walls are hung with...

...rather romanticised paintings of Rum by  Byron Cooper and...

...this appreciation from the Corporation of the City of Capetown for Sir George's loan of his steam yacht Rhouma for a year during the Boer War as a hospital ship.

This photo shows the SY Rhouma's main cabin, which was the dining room, converted to a ward for invalided soldiers.

The SY Rhouma was originally named the Maria.She was built by Napier Shanks & Bell  at Yoker on the Clyde as a steam yacht of 250'2" overall and was launched on 6/6/1893. She went on to be commissioned by the Italian Navy in 1912 when she was renamed Giuliana. Under Sir George she had space for a 12 man orchestra.

In 1913 Sir George replaced SY Rhouma with another Clyde built steam yacht the SY Triton, which he renamed SY Rhouma. This vessel was built at Ailsa Shipbuilding Company in Troon on the Clyde This was the very same yard that in 2000 built the MV Loch Nevis, the current ferry that serves Rum and the other Small Isles. Sadly the MV Loch Nevis was the last ship built at the Ailsa yard as it closed in 2000. The SY Rhouma was sold in 1920 but amazingly she is still afloat. In 1975 her steam engines were removed and replaced with diesel engines. Her current name is MY Madiz..

The billiard room.

The billiard room was fitted with airconditioning and like the rest of the castle double glazing and electricity from a hydroelectric scheme.

The castle was fitted with an early phone system that linked the various rooms.

Sir George bred dogs and horses...

...he also liked to think he had good breeding and had his pedigree on the wall to prove it.

Under the stairs.

This amazing machine was also powered by electricity.

It is an Orchestrion one of only three ever built by...

...Imhof & Mukle. This one was built for Queen Victoria but she died before it was delivered. Sir George bought it in 1906 for £2000.

It came with a great variety of tunes on paper rolls.

Lady Monica's Drawing room.

Lady Monica's Drawing room is situated on a sunny corner of the castle and is light and airy compared with the dark manly panelling favoured by Sir George.

Sadly the hand embroidered silk wall covering has seen better days.

This elegant clock has...

...nothing as irrelevant as a minute hand.

This alabaster diorama depicts Persephone sitting on on her throne. Her husband, Pluto, carries the recently deceased Eurydice on his chariot drawn by by two stallions. They are passing the three headed dog that guards the entrance to the Underworld.

The lower corridor.

This stained glass window's shelf was adorned by some beautiful Japanese vases.

The Empire Room.

Lady Monica claimed descent from one of Napoleon's sisters and the Emperor was used as the theme for the decoration of her boudoir and private retreat.

In a corner is a case of humming birds these flew in a heated palm house but the heating failed and they all died and so Lady Monica had them preserved.  It just goes to show that it was not just Sir George that liked to stuff things.

The ball room.

The ball room has an oak sprung floor and...

 a beautiful chandelier.

The stained glass windows were high on the wall so no one could look in. The musicians from the Rhouma played in a minstrels gallery behind a high balustrade so they could not see into the room. A double hatch from the butler's pantry allowed a supply of drinks in but with no servant to see the assembled guests. The mind boggles.

The dentist's surgery.

No castle is complete without a dentist's chair... "Is it safe...?"

The library.

The library gives the appearance of being well stocked and...

...indeed there are some interesting journals of Sir George's voyages in the Rhouma but...

...the rest is a bit of a sham. The shelves are padded out by multiple copies of each book. "I say, I would like some books for the library." "Certainly sir, how many would you like?"

Sir George's Bedroom

Sir George's boots still sit by his bedroom's fireplace. Judging by their size, he was a big man...

...who liked to keep in trim...

...in some of his own tartan plaid.

Lady Monica's Bedroom.

Lady Monica's bedroom has a pleasant sunny aspect with a view of Loch Scresort.

It is a much softer room than Sir George's and has an...

...en-suite bathroom with the most amazing shower bath that has...

...jets that come at you from all angles. Very refreshing.

Like the shower the WC is by Shanks of Barrhead.

The Hall Gallery.

The hall gallery gives a splendid view of the bric-a-brac and gee-gaws contained in this remarkable room.

At either end of the gallery stand matching and very large Japanese cloisonné vases. These were a gift from the Emperor of Japan to Sir George for services rendered during the Russo-Japanese war.

Also on the balcony are two further paintings by Byron Cooper. This depicts the Skye Cuillin from Kilmory and...

...this is the Rum Cuillin.

Finally this is a magnificent Japanese lacquered cabinet which stands next to Sir George's portrait.

The tower.

Finally we were treated to a view from the recently restored turret.

This bronze was both a weather vane and a lightening conductor.

The Cuillin of Rum were concealed by dark clouds.

The turret even had old Secomak electric air raid siren perhaps dating from 1914, when the dark clouds of war blew over Kinloch castle and swept its Edwardian excesses away.

What a tour of Kinloch Castle we had! It is an incredible time capsule of Edwardian extravagance and opulence. The outbreak of WW1 in 1914 brought the heyday of Kinloch Castle to a close. Sir George died in 1939 and is buried in the family mausoleum at Harris in the west of the island. Lady Monica continued to visit Kinloch Castle at infrequent intervals. On one  her last visits in 1954, aged 85 years, she drove herself over the rough 4x4 track to Harris to visit Sir George's tomb for one last time. Lady Monica, died in 1967 at 98 years of age and was also laid to rest in the Mausoleum. The family trustees then sold Rum and the Castle to the Nature Conservancy Council for £23,000. High in the hills above the Mausoleum there is a small loch. It is called Loch Monica.