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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. Here’s all you need to know about the humble hip flask and when to use it. WHY IS IT CALLED A HIP FLASK? 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. In wet and rainy weather I’m sure this would have been a lot, lot slower to cross with some very claggy sections.
Scotland is known for its summer festivals. From music and books to food and drink, smuggling in a cheeky dram brings the spirit of adventure to summer. Scotland’s Highland Games season peaks in August —the perfect opportunity to conceal a hip flask of fruity liqueur in your sporran! 5. Wild Camping And once we were down at lower levels and I could stop-with-the-fear-already, the sense of remoteness, beauty and tranquillity won through. I would happily hermitage at either of the Bothies (is that the right use of the word?) for a few weeks.Once the rest of the group (you know, the fit, fearless section) met me at Dibidil we pitched the fly sheets and sorted out a bivvy spot for the night. Although Rum is best explored on a mountain bike, day-trippers on foot will find a number of short walks around the ferry jetty and the village of Kinloch, as well as the beautiful Kinloch Castle.
You can toast Scotland’s beautiful outdoors with more than marshmallows. A hip flask of Sloe Gin Liqueur passed around the campfire will make summer memorable. Taking shelter in a bothy? Our Golden Spiced Rum will warm you to your boots!During late September and early October the annual red deer rut takes place. This is the deer mating season, and while fascinating to watch, stags can be extremely dangerous during this time and should be given a wide berth. 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. It’s set to be an exciting summer with Scotland hosting the UCI Cycling World Championships. While we wouldn’t advise drinking and cycling, it’s perfectly acceptable to cheer the cyclists on from the sidelines with a dram! Stunning venues across Scotland like Ben Nevis, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Glasgow Green, Loch Lomond, and Glentress are the perfect place to enjoy a dram while watching this exhilarating event unfold. History Note. The bothy originally would have been a shepherd’s cottage dating around the late 19th Century. Following the clearances (1825-28), the island was used for large-scale sheep farming, with some 10,000 sheep by about 1880, Guirdil being one of several hirsels on the island. It is not clear when the sheep were cleared and Guirdil abandoned. It may have been from 1914-18, when most of the younger men, horses and ponies left to fight in the Great War and never returned. This comprised of a short wander around Kinloch followed by a hill walk up Hallival and a cycle to Kilmory Bay, with extra time allocated for picnic stops and plenty of photos.
After chaining my bike against a fence post (I admit I didn’t need to chain it on this island, but I live in Edinburgh and old habits die hard), I pressed ahead on foot to climb partway up the 2,300-foot summit of Hallival. Stop off at Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery west of the bothy; the tea room is decorated in traditional Tibetan style. The idea was to head off from Kinloch (where the ferry comes in) and walk across the mountains of Barkeval, Hallival, Askival, Trollaval, Ainshval and Sgurr nan Gillean. Modern hip flasks are made from sensible and solid stainless steel. This material is ultra-hygienic, robust, and won’t spoil the flavour of your favourite tipple. Most come with a bayonet cap to prevent the cap rolling off into the grass. Always a hazard!There was then a longish schlep across rough moors before we crossed Bealach an dubh-bhraigh and found our way towards Glen Guirdil. A table and a couple of chairs complete the scene. The larger right hand room has a fireplace and an ancient iron bunk-bed; it is mainly used for wood sawing and storage. Neither room has any insulation, and the bothy can get pretty cold once the stove has gone out. Upstairs is a large area used for sleeping, and a little wood-panelled room at the east end with a small window. Key Attractions: The bothy is one of just two MBA shelters where the communal area occupies only the attic space; the ground level is simply an empty shell with a cobbled floor. Access is via the replaced and slightly precarious ladder up to a trap door. The room is slightly cramped but there is a big stone fireplace at one end, and with a fire going, it is very cosy. A worn chaise lounge left in the house functions as a table, flanked by a couple of benches. Natural light filters through four clear perspex roof panels, but the winter months can be a little gloomy when the bothy is shaded by the hill and gets no direct sunlight. Key Attractions:
Rum National Nature Reserve: The entire reserve is a paradise for nature lovers. It covers most of the island and is home to a vast range of wildlife from rare plants to otters, as well as red deer which are the focus of the world’s longest-running scientific study. The route took us essentially south-east to north-west of the island and across a few rivers (burns). There was quite a bit of rough moorland (which I felt at home on) and some steep cliffs that the path shadowed in places. There’s also Tayport Distillery’s Scots Pine Gin, which was inspired by the Fife coastline, festive memories and Tentsmuir Forest. The judges said; “There's an almost menthol-freshness to the juniper and pine nose, nicely balanced by citrus and cinnamon softness”. Last year, Tayport Distillery also won the regional Golden Fork Trophy for their 1992 Raspberry Liqueur, which is made using local berries. Her family were from (more latterly) southern Scotland, working class folk from around Paisley. But (having started to trace my family tree) elements of the family originated further north. I’ve been to Scotland lots of course (and lived in Paisley for a year or so aged about 10), yet I’ve never been to any of the Islands before. So being on Rum and also seeing some of the more distant isles from various advantage points over the weekend was kind of cool. I think that was why the brash Harris mausoleum annoyed me, it cut through my romanticised revelries of celtic ancestry 🙂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).
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