"Kinloch castle was built by George Bullough, a Harrow-educated cavalry officer and a member of one of the wealthiest, self-made, English mill-owning families, after his father had bought Rum in the later half of the 19th century. Big spender George wanted a summer palace on the island and in 1897 he commissioned cronies and industrial mill architects to design Kinloch Castle. The golden age of lavish summer parties lasted for 13 years until the onset of World War I. After the war, Bullough’s money was running out and his visits became rarer and rarer. He died in 1939 and his wife, Lady Monica Bullough, a beautiful divorcee said to have had numerous affairs within London society, sold the house to what is now Scottish Natural Heritage in 1957.

Originally, the money-squandering Bullough wanted the house to be as long as his yacht, but he was thwarted by two streams running parallel on either side of the site. Instead George filled the castle with as many gadgets as possible. Central heating, hydroelectric power for his electric lighting, and the Orchestrion – the Bang and Olufsen of its day (only six were ever made, and is thought to be the only surviving model). In the garden he had heated pools with alligators and tropical turtles and the conservatory (now gone) was filled with hummingbirds. It was also the first house of its kind with a telephone. Hundreds were employed in the building of the castle, and the eccentric Bullough paid extra if they wore kilts, no doubt fuelling the gossip surrounding his ‘all male’ parties. All in all, the project cost him £250,000 - £15m in today’s terms. It is pseudo-baronial, magnificent in its throw-money-at-it extravagance."

"The Isle of Rum is to be found in the Inner Hebrides and it holds evidence of some of the earliest human settlement in Scotland - some 9,000 years of continuous habitation until 1826, when the island lost its 450 inhabitants through one of the most complete of the highland clearances. Its history has been one of sadness, scandal and myth. It is known throughout the Hebrides as ‘the forbidden isle'."

For further information on Kinloch castle and the Island of Rum, visit the Rum Community website. The Isle of Rum is currently moving towards community empowerment with the appointment by the Minister for Environment, Michael Russell of the Rum Task Group.

If you would like to visit Rum, but would prefer to be based on the mainland, why not stay at Ach na skia Croft, just outside Arisaig, where you will have views right across the sea to the imposing island. In summer trips to Rum can be taken from Arisaig on the Sheerwater, with time ashore to visit Kinloch castle and explore the island. CalMac also make regular sailings to Rum from Mallaig.

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