View source for Rùm

{{Short description|One of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland}}
{{Other uses|Rum (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
|coordinates = {{coord|56.994|-6.344|display=inline}}
|location_map= Scotland Lochaber
|caption= Rùm shown within Lochaber
|GridReference= NM360976
|celtic name= {{Audio|Rum (island).ogg|Rùm}}
|norse name= possibly rõm-øy
|meaning of name= unclear
|area= {{cvt|10463|ha|sqmi|frac=8}}
|area rank= 15
|highest elevation= [[Askival]], {{cvt|812|m|ft|0}}
|Population= 31<ref name=RESAS>{{RESAS}}</ref>
|population density= {{cvt|0.3|PD/km2|1}}<ref name=RESAS/><ref name=Smith/>
|population rank= 56
|main settlement= [[Kinloch, Rùm|Kinloch]]
|island group= [[Small Isles]]
|local authority= [[Highland (council area)|Highland]]
|references= <ref name=Smith>Haswell-Smith (2004) pages 138-143.</ref><ref name=OS>{{Ordnance Survey}}</ref>
|Image=Kinloch Castle, Rum (geograph 2949666).jpg
|ImageCaption=[[Kinloch Castle]]
}}
'''Rùm''' ({{IPA|gd|rˠuːm}}), a [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]] name often [[Anglicisation|anglicised]] to '''Rum''' ({{IPAc-en|r|ʌ|m|audio=Rum.ogg}} {{respell|rum}}), is one of the [[Small Isles]] of the [[Inner Hebrides]], off the west coast of [[Scotland]], in the district of [[Lochaber]]. For much of the 20th century the name became '''Rhum''', a spelling invented by the former owner, [[George Bullough, 1st Baronet Bullough|Sir George Bullough]], because he did not relish the idea of having the title "[[Laird]] of [[Rum]]".<!--of dubious provenance; what's the source for the assertion that "Rhum" was an invention?  -->

It is the largest of the [[Small Isles]], and the 15th largest Scottish island, and is inhabited by about 30 people, all of whom live in the hamlet of [[Kinloch, Rùm|Kinloch]] on the east coast. The island has been inhabited since the 8th millennium BC and provides some of the earliest known evidence of human occupation in Scotland. The early [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlers left only a few written accounts and artefacts. From the 12th to 13th centuries on, the island was held by various [[clan]]s including the [[Clan MacLean|MacLeans]] of [[Coll]]. The population grew to over 400 by the late 18th century but was [[Highland clearances|cleared]] of its indigenous population between 1826 and 1828. The island then became a sporting estate, the exotic [[Kinloch Castle]] being constructed by the Bulloughs in 1900. Rùm was purchased by the [[Nature Conservancy Council]] in 1957.

Rùm is mainly igneous in origin, and its mountains have been eroded by [[Pleistocene]] glaciation. It is now an important study site for research in [[ecology]], especially of [[red deer]], and is the site of a successful reintroduction programme for the [[White-tailed eagle|white-tailed sea eagle]]. Its economy is entirely dependent on [[NatureScot]], a public body that now manages the island, and there have been calls for a greater diversity of housing provision. A [[Caledonian MacBrayne]] ferry links the island with the mainland town of [[Mallaig]].

In 2024, the island was designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, the first such in Scotland and the second in Europe.<ref name=DarkSky2024>{{cite web |url=https://darksky.org/news/rum-becomes-scotlands-first-international-dark-sky-sanctuary/ |title=Rum becomes Scotland's first International Dark Sky Sanctuary |work=Dark Sky International |date=23 August 2024 |access-date=24 February 2025 }}</ref>

==Toponyms==
[[File:Waterfall on South Coast of Rum - geograph.org.uk - 41742.jpg|thumb|Coastal waterfall]]
Haswell-Smith (2004) suggests that ''Rum'' is "probably" pre-Celtic, but may be [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|rõm-øy}} for 'wide island' or [[Scottish Gaelic language|Gaelic]] {{lang|gd|ì-dhruim}} ({{IPA|gd|iˈɣɾɯim|pron}}) meaning 'isle of the ridge'. Ross (2007) notes that there is a written record of ''Ruim'' from 677 and suggests 'spacious island' from the Gaelic {{lang|gd|rùm}}. Mac an Tàilleir (2003) is unequivocal that Rùm is "a pre-Gaelic name and unclear". In light of this, [[Richard Coates]] has suggested that it may be worth looking for a [[Proto-Semitic]] source for the name.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coates |first=Richard |date=2012 |title=A toponomastic contribution to the linguistic prehistory of the British Isles |url=http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/27188/10/1punNominaABSOLDEFINITIVEfinal.pdf |journal=[[Nomina (journal)|Nomina]] |volume=35 |pages=19–20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025103907/http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/27188/10/1punNominaABSOLDEFINITIVEfinal.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2017 |access-date=2 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Names in Multi-Lingual, Multi-Cultural and Multi-Ethnic Contact: Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences: August 17‒22, York University, Toronto, Canada |last=Coates |first=Richard |publisher=[[York University]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55014-521-2 |location=[[Toronto]] |page=237 |chapter=A Glimpse through a Dirty Window into an Unlit House: Names of Some North-West European Islands |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407205627/http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3642/icos23_228.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2015 |editor-last=Ahrens |editor-last2=Embleton |editor-first=Wolfgang |editor-first2=Sheila |editor-last3=Lapierre |editor-first3=André |chapter-url=http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3642/icos23_228.pdf }}</ref> This is because the [[British Isles]] were likely repopulated from the [[Iberian Peninsula]] following the [[Last glacial period|last Ice Age]]. He proposes a name based on the [[Proto-Semitic]] root {{lang|sem-x-proto|rwm}}, a 'height-word' as seen in [[Ramat Gan]] in [[Israel]] and [[Ramallah]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Broderick |first=George |date=2013 |title=Some Island Names in the Former 'Kingdom of the Isles': a reappraisal |url=http://www.clanntuirc.co.uk/JSNS/V7/JSNS7%20Broderick.pdf |journal=[[The Journal of Scottish Name Studies]] |volume=7 |pages=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618052416/http://www.clanntuirc.co.uk/JSNS/V7/JSNS7%20Broderick.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2018 }}</ref> Rum would therefore mean something like '(island of) height' or 'high island'.<ref name=":0" />

The origins are therefore speculative, but it is known for certain that George Bullough changed the spelling to ''Rhum'' to avoid the association with the alcoholic drink rum. However, the "Rhum" spelling is used on a Kilmory gravestone dated 1843.<ref>Love (2002) p156.</ref> In 1991 the [[Nature Conservancy Council|Nature Conservancy Council of Scotland]] (the forerunner to NatureScot) reverted to the use of ''Rum'' without the ''h''.<ref name="Smith" /><ref>Ross, David (2007) ''Dictionary of Scottish Place-names''. Edinburgh. Birlinn/Scotland on Sunday.</ref><ref>{{Gaelic Placenames}}.</ref>

In the 13th century there may be references to the island as ''Raun-{{lang|non|eyja}}'' and ''Raun-{{lang|non|eyjum}}'' and [[Donald Monro (Dean)|Dean Munro]] writing in 1549 calls it ''Ronin''.<ref>Rixson (2001) page 88.</ref><ref name=Dean>{{cite journal |last=Munro |first=D. |year=1818 |title=Description of the Western Isles of Scotland called Hybrides, by Mr. Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, who travelled through most of them in the year 1549 |journal=Miscellanea Scotica |issue=2 }}</ref> Seafaring Hebrideans had numerous taboos concerning spoken references to islands. In the case of Rùm, use of the usual name was forbidden, the island being referred to as {{lang|gd|Rìoghachd na Forraiste Fiadhaich}}, 'the kingdom of the wild forest'.<ref name="Rixson 2001 page 110">Rixson (2001) page 110.</ref>

The island was cleared of its indigenous population prior to being mapped by the [[Ordnance Survey]], so it is possible that many place names are speculative. Nonetheless, the significant number of Norse-derived names that exist eight centuries after [[Viking]] political control ended indicate the importance of their presence on the island. Of the nine hamlets that were mapped in 1801, seven of the names are of Norse origin.<ref>Rixson (2001) pages 67 and 70.</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:RumLandsat.jpg|thumb|left|[[Landsat]] satellite view of Rùm]]
Rùm is the largest of the Small Isles, with an area of {{convert|10463|ha|acre}}.

[[File:Bealach an Oir to the slopes of Trollaval - geograph.org.uk - 184941.jpg|thumb|Trollaval]]
Kinloch is at the head of Loch Scresort, the main anchorage. Kilmory Bay lies to the north. It has a fine beach and the remains of a village, and has for some years served as the base for research into red deer (see below). The area is occasionally closed to visitors during the period of the deer [[rut (mammalian reproduction)|rut]] in the autumn. The western point is the A' Bhrìdeanach peninsula, and to the southwest lie Wreck Bay, the cliffs of Sgorr Réidh and Harris Bay. The last is the site of the Bullough's [[mausoleum]]. The family decided the first version was inadequate and dynamited it. The second is in the incongruous style of a Greek temple. Papadil (Old Norse: "valley of the hermit") near the southern extremity has the ruins of a lodge built and then abandoned by the Bulloughs.<ref name=Smith/>

An 1801 map produced by George Langlands identified nine villages: Kilmory to the north at the head of Glen Kilmory, Samhnan Insir just to the north between Kilmory and Rubha Samhnan Insir, Camas Pliasgiag in the northeast, "Kinlochscresort", (the modern Kinloch), Cove (Laimhrige at Bàgh na h-Uamha in the east), Dibidil in the southeast, Papadil in the south, Harris in the southwest and Guirdil at the head of Glen Shellesder in the northwest.<ref>Rixson (2001) page 142.</ref><ref name=Virtanen>Virtanaen, R., Edwards, G.R. and Crawley M.J. (2002) [https://www.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00734.x ''Red deer management and vegetation on the Isle of Rum''] (pdf) Journal of Applied Ecology '''39''' 572-83.</ref>

The island's relief is spectacular, a 19th-century commentator remarking that "the interior is one heap of rude mountains, scarcely possessing an acre of level land".<ref>MacCulloch, J. (1824) ''The Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland''. Vol. IV. London.</ref> This combination of geology and topography make for less than ideal agricultural conditions, and it is doubtful that more than one tenth of the island has ever been cultivated. In the 18th century average land rental values on Rùm were a third those of neighbouring [[Eigg]], and only a fifth of [[Canna, Scotland|Canna's]].<ref>Rixson (2001) page 136, quoting Walker's ''Report on the Hebrides'' of 1764.</ref>

Mean rainfall is high at {{cvt|1800|mm|in}} at the coast and {{cvt|3000|mm|in}} in the hills. Spring months are usually the driest and winter the wettest, but any month may receive the highest level of precipitation during the year.<ref>Clutton-Brock, T. and Ball, M.E. (1987) pages 2-3.</ref>

==Geology==
[[File:Bloodstone Hill, Rum.jpg|thumb|The west coast looking from A' Bhrideanach point towards Bloodstone Hill]]
The main range of hills on Rùm are the Cuillin, usually referred to as the "[[Rùm Cuillin]]", in order to distinguish them from the [[Cuillin]] of [[Isle of Skye|Skye]]. They are rocky peaks of [[gabbro]], forming the [[Rum layered intrusion]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Emeleus, C. H. (Charles Henry)|title=A geological excursion guide to Rum : the Palaeocene igneous rocks of the Isle of Rum, Inner Hebrides|date=2008|publisher=Edinburgh Geological Society|others=Troll, V. R.|isbn=978-1-905267-22-4|location=Edinburgh [Scotland]|oclc=437092879}}</ref> Geologically, Rùm is the core of a deeply eroded [[volcano]] that was active in the [[Paleogene]] period some 60 million years ago,<ref>Hamilton MA, Pearson DG, Thompson RN, Kelly SP, Emeleus CH (1998) Rapid eruption of Skye lavas inferred from precise U-Pb and Ar-Ar dating of the Rum and Cuillin plutonic complexes. Nature 394: 260-263</ref> and which developed on a pre-existing structure of [[Torridonian]] [[sandstone]] and [[shale]]s resting on [[Lewisian complex|Lewisian gneiss]].<ref>McKirdy ''et al.'' (2007) page 150.</ref><ref>Emeleus, C. H. "The Rhum Volcano" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 12.</ref> Two of the Cuillin are classified as [[Corbett (hill)|Corbetts]]: [[Askival]] and [[Ainshval]], ([[Old Norse]] for "mountain of the ash trees" and "hill of the strongholds" respectively) and Rùm is the smallest [[List of islands of Scotland#Highest islands|Scottish island]] to have a summit above {{convert|762|m|ft}}. Other hills include [[Hallival]], [[Trollaval]] ('mountain of the trolls'), [[Barkeval]], and [[Sgurr nan Gillean, Rùm|Sgurr nan Gillean]] (Gaelic: "peak of the young men") in the Cuillin and Ard Nev, [[Orval, Rùm|Orval]], Sròn an t-Saighdeir and Bloodstone Hill in the west.<ref name=Smith/> It is likely that only the higher peaks remained above the Pleistocene ice sheets as [[nunatak]]s.<ref>McKirdy ''et al.'' (2007) page 285.</ref>

[[File:Perched boulder - geograph.org.uk - 28858.jpg|thumb|left|Deposits from the ice age]]
Hallival and Askival are formed from an extraordinary series of [[Layered intrusion|layered]] [[igneous]] rocks created as [[olivine]] and [[feldspar]] crystals accumulated at the base of a [[magma]] chamber.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Troll|first1=V R|last2=Mattsson|first2=T|last3=Upton|first3=B G J|last4=Emeleus|first4=C H|last5=Donaldson|first5=C H|last6=Meyer|first6=R|last7=Weis|first7=F|last8=Dahrén|first8=B|last9=Heimdal|first9=T H|date=2020-10-09|title=Fault-Controlled Magma Ascent Recorded in the Central Series of the Rum Layered Intrusion, NW Scotland|journal=Journal of Petrology|volume=61|issue=10|doi=10.1093/petrology/egaa093|issn=0022-3530|doi-access=free|hdl=10023/23208|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The chamber eventually collapsed, forming a [[caldera]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Troll|first1=Valentin R.|last2=Emeleus|first2=C. Henry|last3=Donaldson|first3=Colin H.|date=2000-11-01|title=Caldera formation in the Rum Central Igneous Complex, Scotland|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s004450000099|journal=Bulletin of Volcanology|language=en|volume=62|issue=4|pages=301–317|doi=10.1007/s004450000099|bibcode=2000BVol...62..301T|s2cid=128985944 |issn=1432-0819|url-access=subscription}}</ref> There are swarms of near-vertical [[Dike (geology)|dyke]]s of basalt on the northwest coast between Kilmory and Guirdil, created by basaltic magma forcing its way into fissures in the pre-existing rock.<ref>Emeleus, C.H. "The Rhum Volcano" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 11.</ref> The western hills, although less elevated than the Cuillin, exhibit a superb collection of [[periglacial]] landforms including boulder sheets and lobes, turf-banked terraces, ploughing boulders and patterned ground. On Orval and Ard Nev the weathered basalt and [[granophyre]] has been sorted by frost heaving into circles 50&nbsp;centimetres in diameter and weathering on Barkeval has produced unusual rock sculptures. On Sròn an t-Saighdeir there are large sorted [[granite]] boulder circles 2–3&nbsp;metres across on the flat summit and sorted stripes on the slopes. Lava flowing away from the volcanic centre formed Bloodstone Hill, gas bubbles leaving holes in the structure that were then filled with green [[agate]] flecked with red. There are some outcrops of the pre-volcanic Lewisian gneiss near Dibidil in the southeast corner of the island, and more extensive deposits of sandstone in the north and east.<ref>McKirdy ''et al.'' (2007) pages 194 and 284-5.</ref>

==History==
===Prehistory===
A site near Kinloch known as Farm Fields provides some of the earliest known evidence of human occupation in Scotland. Carbonized [[hazelnut]] shells found there have been dated to the [[Mesolithic]] period at 7700-7500 BC.<ref>Edwards, Kevin J. and Whittington, Graeme "''Vegetation Change''" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) page 70.</ref>{{refn|group="note"|At the time of its discovery, the site at Farm Fields was considered to be the earliest evidence in Scotland. In 2004, however the remains of a large camp were found at [[Cramond]] in West Lothian, dated to 8500 BC, fully a millennium earlier than the Rùm site. See {{cite web |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146410357 |title=The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map: Rubbish dump reveals time-capsule of Scotland's earliest settlements |website=megalithic.co.uk |access-date=10 February 2008}}}}; at this time the landscape was dominated by [[alder]], [[hazel]] and [[willow]] scrub.<ref>McKirdy ''et al.'' (2007) page 196.</ref> A beach site above Loch Scresort has been dated to between 6500 and 5500 BC. The presence of this [[hunter-gatherer]] community may have been to take advantage of the local supplies of [[Heliotrope (mineral)|bloodstone]], a workable material for the making of tools and weapons. There is a shell-midden at Papadil in the south and evidence of tidal fish traps at both Kinloch and Kilmory.<ref>Rixson (2001) pages 1-7.</ref>

Examination of [[peat]] cores and [[pollen]] records indicates that soil erosion (suggesting clearance of woodland for agricultural purposes) was taking place in 3470 BC (the early [[Neolithic]] era); much later, from 2460 BC, evidence of arable cultivation exists.<ref>[[Colin Ballantyne|Ballantyne, Colin K]], and Dawson, Alastair G. "Geomorphology and Landscape Change" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) page 42.</ref> As the climate became damper, [[peat]] expanded its coverage at the expense of woodland, and post-glacial sea level changes left raised beaches around the coastline 18–45&nbsp;metres above the present sea-level, especially between Harris and A'Bhrideanach;<ref>McKirdy ''et al.'' (2007) pages 196, 214 and 286.</ref> [[Bronze Age]] artefacts, such as barbed-and-tanged arrowheads typical of the [[Beaker People]], have been found in the [[machair]] which replaced it{{refn|group="note"|found by a schoolboy in 1964, at Samhnan Insir, when winds exposed them}}.

[[File:Loch Papadil - geograph.org.uk - 1759307.jpg|thumb|Loch Papadil. The promontory fort is to the right{{refn|group="note"|the castle-like structure in the centre of the image is a natural rock formation, the Papadil Pinnacle}}]]
There are prehistoric fort sites at promontories near Kilmory, Papadil and Glen Shellesder of uncertain date.<ref>Rixson (2001) page 2.</ref> These primarily consist of a wall dividing the promontory from the rest of the island, but at Kilmory, there is also a rampart with a hollow containing the traces of an interior structure. At Shellesder, the promontory contains the remains of three round stone-walled huts, one of which integrates with the dividing wall. A small number of cairns, again of uncertain date, are also located along the coast{{refn|group="note"|at Carn-an-dobhrain Bhig, at A' Bhrideanach, at [[Guirdil]] (this one is badly damaged), and near Kilmory. A cairn-like mound to the south of Harris may also be a cairn, though it could also be a natural formation}}.

===Early Medieval Period===

In the sixth and seventh centuries, Irish missionary activity led by [[Columba]] established a Christian presence in the region. Beccan of Rùm (previously a monk at [[Iona]]) may have lived on the island (at Papadil), for four decades from 632, his death being recorded in the ''Annals of Ulster'' in 677. He is known to have been conservative on doctrinal matters and surviving examples of his poetry suggest a passionate personality.<ref>Rixson (2001) pages 21-25.</ref> He wrote of Columba:<blockquote>
:In scores of curraghs with an army of wretches he crossed the long-haired sea.
:He crossed the wave-strewn wild region,
:Foam flecked, seal-filled, savage, bounding, seething, white-tipped, pleasing, doleful.<ref>"Tiugraind Beccain" in Clancy, T.O. and Markus, G. eds. (1995) ''Iona- The Earliest Poetry of A Celtic Monastery'' quoted by Rixson (2001) page 25.</ref> </blockquote>

[[File:Stone at Bagh na h-Uamha inscribed with Cross - geograph.org.uk - 29667.jpg|thumb|The inscribed pillar near Bàgh na h-Uamha]]
Simple stone pillars, over {{convert|4+1/2|ft|m|1|order=flip|abbr=off}} tall, have been found at Kilmory and Bàgh na h-Uamha ("bay of the cave"), and may date from this period.<ref>Rixson (2001) page 35.</ref> The latter pillar in particular is inscribed with a slim cross having strong similarities to a motif in the late 6th century ''[[Cathach of St. Columba]]''. The other pillar – at Kilmory – is slimmer (being {{cvt|9|in|mm|order=flip|disp=or}} wide, rather than {{cvt|1|ft|4|in|mm|order=flip|disp=or}}), but is inscribed with a more elaborate design, resembling a [[globus cruciger]] sitting in a [[chalice]]; on the back is a simple [[Latin Cross]].

===Scandinavian settlement===

[[File:Deeply fractured coastline - geograph.org.uk - 904383.jpg|thumb|left|Deeply fractured coastline]]
From 833, [[Norsemen|Norse]] settlers established the [[Kingdom of the Isles]] throughout the Hebrides. Despite being [[Scandinavian Scotland|a dependency of the Norwegian king]], practical authority rested with the [[Clann Somhairle|MacSorley]], following a revolt by their ancestor, [[Somerled]]; the strip from [[Uist]] to the [[Rough Bounds]], which contained the Small Isles, was ruled by the [[Clann Ruaidhrí|MacRory]] branch of the MacSorley.<ref>''Kingship and Unity, Scotland 1000–1306'', G. W. S. Barrow, Edinburgh University Press, 1981</ref><ref>''Galloglas: Hebridean and West Highland Mercenary Warrior Kindreds in Medieval Ireland'', John Marsden, 2003</ref><ref>''Lismore: The Great Garden'', Robert Hay, 2009, Birlinn Ltd</ref><ref>''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', 90 (1956–1957), A.A.M. Duncan, A.L Brown, pages 204-205</ref><ref>''The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard'', R. A. McDonald, 1997, Tuckwell Press</ref><ref name="Rix93">Rixson (2001) page 93.</ref> The only archaeological evidence of a Norse presence on Rùm, to date, is a piece of carved [[narwhal]] ivory{{refn|group="note"|unearthed at Bagh na h-Uamh in 1940}}, dating from the MacRory era, which served as a playing token / draughtsman<ref name="Smith" />{{refn|group="note"|it is now stored at the [[National Museum of Scotland|Edinburgh Royal Museum]]}}.

===Scottish control===

In 1266, the [[Treaty of Perth]] transferred the Kingdom of the Isles to [[Alexander III of Scotland|the Scottish king]]. At the turn of the century, [[William I of Scotland|William I]] had created the position of [[Sheriff of Inverness]], to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Garmoran;<ref>Dickinson W.C., ''The Sheriff Court Book of Fife'', Scottish History Society, Third Series, Vol. XII (Edinburgh 1928), pp. 357-360</ref><ref>''The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707'', K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007–2017), 15 July 1476</ref> nevertheless, the treaty expressly preserved the power of local rulers, turning the MacRory lands into the ''Lordship of [[Garmoran]]'', a quasi-independent crown dependency, rather than an intrinsic part of Scotland.

After nearly a century, the sole MacRory heir was [[Amy of Garmoran]], who married [[John of Islay, Lord of the Isles|John of Islay]],<ref name=Smith/> leader of the [[Clan Donald|MacDonalds]], the most powerful branch of the MacSorley. A decade later, John put Amy, a faithful wife, aside to marry Princess Margaret, thus depriving his eldest son, [[Ranald MacDonald (founder of Clanranald)|Ranald]], of the ability to inherit the lordship and those MacDonald lands. As compensation, John granted the Lordship of the Uists to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey, and made Ranald Lord of the remainder of Garmoran, including Rùm.<ref name="Rix93" />

[[File:Loch Fiachanis, Rum.jpg|thumb|Loch Fiachanis in the interior, looking towards the Cuillin]]
In 1380, shortly after it was acquired by Ranald, [[John of Fordun]] indicates that Rùm was "''a wooded and hilly island''" "''with excellent sport, but few inhabitants''".<ref>John of Fordun (c. 1380) ''Scotichronicon'' quoted in Rixson (2001) pages 100 and 154.</ref> It is possible that during the early [[medieval]] period the island was used as a hunting reserve by the nobility;<ref>Rixson (2001) page 99.</ref> in Gaelic it was referred to as {{lang|gd|Rìoghachd na Forraiste Fiadhaich}} — 'the kingdom of the wild forest'.<ref name="Rixson 2001 page 110"/>

However, on Ranald's death, Godfrey seized Garmoran, leading to an enormous amount of violence between him and Ranald's heirs ([[Clan Ranald]]){{refn|group="note"|Though surviving records reference the level of violence, they don't describe it in detail}}. In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence, King [[James I of Scotland|James I]] demanded that highland leaders should attend a meeting at [[Inverness]]. On arrival, many of the leaders were seized and imprisoned; some were killed. After a quick show trial of Godfrey's heir{{refn|grouo="note"|his son, Alexander MacGorrie}}, and in view of Clan Ranald being no less responsible for the violence, King James killed Alexander MacGorrie and declared the Lordship of Garmoran forfeit.

===Early modern period===

[[File:Rum - Orval from the SW (geograph 2374377).jpg|thumb|left|The slopes of Orval]]
Following the forfeiture, most of Garmoran remained with the Scottish crown until 1469, when [[James III of Scotland|James III]] granted [[Laird]]ship of it to [[John of Islay, Earl of Ross|John of Ross]], the new MacDonald leader, who passed it to his own half-brother, [[Hugh of Sleat]]. Clan Ranald objected to the transfer to Hugh, and appear to have retained some level of physical possession, regardless of whether they any legal authority to do so{{refn|group="note"|traditionally referred to as holding lands ''by the sword''}}. The status of Rùm during this period is unclear, as surviving records do not mention it as part of Hugh's possessions.

[[Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross|Alexander]], the previous MacDonald leader, had made land grants to the eldest and youngest sons of [[Lachlan Bronneach Maclean|Lachlan MacLean]], grandson of Alexander's aunt{{refn|group="note"|As leader of the MacLeans, Lachlan's second son – the eldest [[legitimacy (family law)|lawful]] son – stood to inherit the MacLean lands, but the other sons lacked any inheritance, until granted some by Alexander}}. [[John Garbh Maclean, 1st Laird of Coll|John Garbh]] (the youngest son) now obtained Rùm (possibly, Alexander had [[quitclaim]]ed it to him); like Hugh's gains, Clan Ranald objected to this transfer.<ref name="etc46">{{cite book |last=MacLean |first=John Patterson |author-link=John Patterson MacLean |title=A History of the Clan MacLean from Its First Settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the Present Period: Including a Genealogical Account of Some of the Principal Families Together with Their Heraldry, Legends, Superstitions, Etc. |year=1889|publisher=R. Clarke & Company | url=https://archive.org/details/historyofclanmac00macluoft }}, p. 46</ref> Traditional accounts claim that John Garbh purchased a quitclaim of Clan Ranald rights from their leader, Allan{{refn|group="note"|surnamed MacDonald, but often known as Allan MacRuari, after his father, Ruari (rather than his ancestral family, the MacRuadhri/MacRory)}}, by giving them a [[galley]]; though the galley ''looked'' in good quality, the interior (so the legend says) was rotten, hence explaining Clan Ranald's refusal to accept John Garbh's ownership of Rùm.<ref name="JCol">''[[A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland]]'', [[Dr. Samuel Johnson|Dr. Johnson]], 1775, under heading ''Castle of Col''</ref> John Garbh subsequently seized Allan, and held him prisoner on [[Coll]] for 9 months;<ref name="JCol" /> presumably Allan was only released once he had agreed to acknowledge the exchange.<ref name="JCol" />

[[File:Red Deer on Kilmory Beach - geograph.org.uk - 1491568.jpg|alt=Red deer on the beach|thumb|Red deer on Kilmory Beach]]
In 1493, John Garbh's heirs (the MacLeans of Coll) became direct [[vassal]]s of the king, as a result of John MacDonald's realm becoming forfeit. This brought them into conflict with the heirs of John Garbh's elder brother (the MacLeans of [[Duart Castle|Duart]]), who believed themselves to be the leaders of all MacLeans. In 1549 [[Donald Monro (Dean)|Donald Munro]], conducting a survey, noted that although the island "''pertained''" to Coll it "''obeys instantlie''" to Duart,<ref name="Dean" /> a situation that continued for some time.

Munro also reported that, at the time, Rùm was highly forested, with an abundance of deer.<ref name="Dean" /> Munro goes on to argue that the best way of slaying the deer would be when they are moving uphill (when gravity is against them), their principal home being in the heights.<ref name="Dean" /> Contemporary with Munro, substantial stone walls were built in the glens to funnel deer into pens{{refn|group="note"|still existent in the western glens<ref>Rixson (2001) page 111.</ref>}}.

When [[Lachlan Mor Maclean|Lachlan Mor]] became leader of the MacLeans of Duart, he pursued the feud with vigour. In 1588, he had the fortune for some remains of the [[Spanish Armada]] to arrive in his lands ([[Isle of Mull|Mull]]); Lachlan offered them refuge in return for a supply of 100 soldiers. So it was that in 1588 Lachlan Mor attacked the Small Isles with the aid of Spaniards, and slaughtered its population, sparing neither women nor children. Rùm's character as a hunting reserve, and the low numbers of its former population, meant that there was little long-term impact, once Rùm was repopulated. A contemporary, Skene, noted that
<blockquote>
Romb is ane Ile of small profit, except that it conteins mony deir, and for sustentation thairof the same is permittit unlabourit, except twa townis. It is... all hillis and waist glennis, and commodious only for hunting of deir... and will raise 6 or 7 men.{{refn|group="note"|English translation from [[Scots language|Lowland Scots]]: "Rum is an isle of small profit, except that it contains many deer, and to sustain them they are free to roam, except for two villages. It is... all hills and waste valleys, and commodious only for hunting of deer... and will raise 6 or 7 men (for war)."}}<ref>Skene ''The Description of the Isles of Scotland, 1577-95'' quoted in Rixson (2001) page 100.</ref></blockquote>

[[James VI of Scotland|The king]] imprisoned Lachlan (in Edinburgh) for his actions{{refn|group="note"|the offence was the use of Spaniards, not the violence and arson}}, but he escaped, and faced no further punishment{{refn|group="note"|due to the king's status as [[Elizabeth I]] of England's heir, and Elizabeth's desire for the MacLeans to assist her against Irish rebels, wider considerations may have been at play here<ref>John Lorne Campbell, ''Canna: The Story of a Hebridean Island'', 2014, Birlinn Ltd</ref>}}. A later report for the king indicated that the island was repopulated by members of Clan Ranald<ref>Rixson (2001) pages 117-9.</ref><ref>Love, J.A. "Rhum's Human History" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 30.</ref>

===Religious changes===
The MacLeans of Rùm and of Duart were mild supporters of the [[Scottish reformation]], remaining [[Episcopalianism|Episcopalian]], rather than becoming [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]], and consequently the [[Roman Catholic]] church thought them susceptible to [[proselytism|re-conversion]]. In 1622, the Irish church sent Cornelius Ward{{refn|group="note"|In gaelic, his name is ''Conchobhair mac-an-Bháird''}}, a [[Franciscan]] [[friar]], to bring Roman Catholicism back into the MacLean lands. Arriving on Rùm in 1625, Cornelius reported that it only had three villages;<ref name="Rix100">Rixson (2001) pages 100-1.</ref> a few decades earlier the much smaller nearby island of [[Muck, Scotland|Muck]] was recorded as having twice as many able men, suggesting that Rùm's population had been deliberately constrained.<ref name="Rix100" />

Cornelius had no luck with the MacLean leadership, who remained Episcopalian, but the (small) population of Rùm does appear to have become Roman Catholic again. In the rest of the nation, [[Covenanter]]s gradually gained political control. Coll (along with the lands of the MacLeans of Duart) was under the shrieval authority of the [[sheriff of Argyll]]; under pressure from [[Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll|the Earl of Argyll]], one of the most powerful Covenanter leaders, shrieval authority over Rùm was transferred from Inverness to the Argyll sheriff, which was under the control of [[Clan Campbell|the Earl's family]].

[[File:Kilmory Glen - geograph.org.uk - 410912.jpg|thumb|Open expanse, near Kilmory, historically the main settlement]]
In later generations, the lairds themselves became [[Presbyterian]], preventing the island from becoming involved in the [[Jacobite risings]], but it did ultimately bring a minor dispute to the island. In 1726, Presbyterianism was established in Rùm, quickly taking hold of the island's population (there were only around 150 people living on Rùm at the time). Nevertheless, Rùm had no permanent Protestant minister, and when one visited, he was obliged to conduct sermons in the open air, there being no church building.

Half a century later, when visiting the wider region, [[Samuel Johnson|Dr. Johnson]] was told that the laird{{refn|group="note"|who would have been [[Lachlan Maclean, 6th Laird of Coll|Lachlan MacLean]]}} had hit one of the tenants across the back with a gold-tipped cane, as punishment for going to Roman Catholic [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]], threatening the same treatment for any others who did so. The Roman Catholic population of [[Eigg]], an adjacent island, facetiously called Rùm's Protestantism ''The [[Religion of the Yellow Stick]]''.

===Population expansion===

[[File:Mountain goat on the shore of Loch Scresort (geograph 4965112).jpg|thumb|left|Mountain goat at Loch Scresort]]
The introduction of the [[potato]] as a food crop, in the 18th century, led to a rapid expansion of demand for arable land, which the populace also planted with [[barley]]. The increased health and [[fecundity]] this brought, and the lack of further wars, led to a population expansion;<ref>Rixson (2001) pages 93 and 107–8.</ref> by 1801 there were nine hamlets on the island.

In turn, the increased demand for work led to new sources of income. Black cattle were raised for export to the mainland, and (more unusually) [[goat]]s were kept by the inhabitants, the hair being sent to [[Glasgow]] and made into [[wig]]s for export to America.<ref>Rixson (2001) page 141, quoting Walker's ''Report on the Hebrides'' of 1764.</ref> The economy was in no small part dependent on the bounty of the sea; Edward Clarke, visiting in 1797 dined on:
<blockquote>
....milk, oatcakes and Lisbon wine. I was surprised to find wine of that species, and of a superior quality in such a hut, but they told us it was part of the freight of some unfortunate vessel [[shipwreck|wrecked]] near the island.<ref>Rixson (2001) page 15.</ref>
</blockquote>

However, local agriculture was comparatively primitive,<ref name="Rix81">Rixson (2001) page 81.</ref> and the lack of [[limestone|lime]] restricted the ability to [[tanning (leather)|tan leather]], or construct sophisticated buildings;<ref>Pennant, Thomas (1772) ''A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides''.</ref> the island was no more valuable than the much much smaller island of Muck.<ref name="Rix81" /> Furthermore, the new demands on the land had reduced the great forest island into an essentially treeless landscape{{refn|group="note"|except for Kinloch village}};<ref>Rixson (2001) page 155.</ref> by the end of the century, this had caused the extinction of the native [[red deer]] (''Cervus elaphus'').<ref>Clutton-Brock, T. and Guinness F.E. "Red Deer" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 95.</ref>

The increase in the price of [[kelp]]{{refn|group="note"|A source of valuable minerals, like [[soda ash]]}}, as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]]{{refn|group="note"|which limited foreign supplies}}, was the only thing keeping Rùm's economy afloat.<ref>Rixson (2001) pages 142–4.</ref> Inevitably, when the Napoleonic Wars ended, the kelp price collapsed, causing severe financial hardship. The laird himself was in additional difficulties as a result of having purchased the Isle of Muck during the peak of demand for kelp. He decided to [[Highland Clearances|evict the tenants]], and lease the whole island to a relative, Dr Lachlan Maclean.

===Depopulation===
[[File:Ruins at Port-na-Caranean (geograph 2920676).jpg|thumb|Ruins of a village on Rùm]]
In keeping with the [[Highland Clearances]] that had swept Scotland since the 1750s, in 1825 the inhabitants of Rùm (then numbering some 450 people) were given a year's notice to quit{{refn|group="note"|comparatively generous by the standards of other highland clearances}}. The inhabitants of Rùm had simply been tenant farmers, paying rent to the laird; they owned neither the land they worked, nor the houses in which they lived. On 11 July 1826, about 300 of the inhabitants boarded two overcrowded ships{{refn|group="note"|the ''Highland Lad'' and the ''Dove of Harmony''}} bound for [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]] in [[Nova Scotia]]{{refn|group="note"|Now part of Canada<!--but not at the time-->}}. The laird, and Dr Lachlan, paid for their journey. The remaining population followed in 1827{{refn|group="note"|on the ''St. Lawrence'', which also transported some 150 inhabitants from Muck}}.<ref>Love, J.A. "Rhum's Human History" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) pages 39-40.</ref><ref>Love (2002), page ?</ref> Similar evictions happened all over the [[Gàidhealtachd|gaelic-speaking parts of Scotland]], and collectively became known as the [[Highland Clearances]]. [[Harris, Rùm|Harris]] was the largest settlement in the 18th century, which was cleared. It had 37 buildings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/21948/rum-harris-1|title=Rum, Harris 1|publisher=Canmore|access-date=19 November 2018}}</ref>

In 1827, when giving evidence to a government select committee on emigration, an agent of the laird was asked "And were the people willing to go?"; "Some of them", came the reply, "Others were not very willing, they did not like to leave the land of their ancestors".<ref>Love (2002), page 129.</ref> Years later an eyewitness, a local shepherd, was more florid in his description of the events: "The people of the island were carried off in one mass, for ever, from the sea-girt spot where they were born and bred... The wild outcries of the men and heart-breaking wails of the women and children filled all the air between the mountainous shore of the bay".<ref>Waugh, Edwin (1882) ''The Limping Pilgrim'' quoting an unknown shepherd. Recorded in Love, J.A. "Rhum's Human History" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 40.</ref><ref>Description of the Suisnish clearances on nearby Skye: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/land_and_votes/skye_clearances/ "The Skye and Raasay Clearances – 1853"]. Video from ''A history of Scotland: This Land is Our Land''. BBC. Retrieved 26 December 2012.</ref>

[[File:Bloodstone Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1069130.jpg|thumb|left|A shepherd's [[bothy]]{{refn|group="note"|by the beach}}, in a remote part of Rùm]]
Lachlan turned Rùm into a sheep farm, with its population replaced by some 8,000 [[Scottish Blackface|blackface sheep]]. So total had been the clearance that he was forced to import families to the island to act as [[shepherd]]s{{refn|group="note"|He chose families being evicted from Skye and MacLean lands in Mull}}. However, the prosperity elsewhere in the UK led to traditional staples like mutton and wool being of less interest to consumers, and their price fell. In 1839 the price of mutton fell dramatically, bankrupting Dr Lachlan, and forcing him to leave. Ironically, in the words of one of the émigrées, Dr Lachlan, "the Curse and Scourge of the Highland Crofters [was now] much worse off than the comfortable people he turned out of Rùm 13 years previously".<ref>Love (2002), page 128.</ref>

In 1844 the visiting geologist, [[Hugh Miller]], wrote:
<blockquote>
The single sheep farmer who had occupied the holdings of so many had been unfortunate in his speculations, and had left the island: the proprietor, his landlord seemed to have been as little fortunate as his tenant, for the island itself was in the market; and a report went current at the time that it was on the eve of being purchased by some wealthy Englishman, who purposed converting it into a deer forest. How strange a cycle!<ref>Miller, Hugh (1845) ''The Cruise of the Betsey''. National Museums of Scotland: (2000 reprint). {{ISBN|1-901663-54-X}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Multiple island owners===
[[File:Lime Kiln and Pier at Kinloch, Rum - geograph.org.uk - 153157.jpg|thumb|Salisbury's lime-kiln]]In 1845, the MacLean laird sold the island to [[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury|the Marquess of Salisbury]], who converted Rùm into an estate for country sports. The Marquis first built a pier at Kinloch, and adjacent limekiln, to help with this process, re-introducing deer, both [[Red Deer|Red]] and [[Fallow Deer|Fallow]]. He then passed the land to his son, [[Viscount Cranbourne]], who was more interested in fishing.

[[File:Lord Salisbury's Dam - geograph.org.uk - 28860.jpg|thumb|left|''Salisbury's dam'']]
The main rivers of Rùm were essentially just trickling streams, so Cranbourne came up with a plan to increase the power of the Kinloch River, by diverting the other two. In 1849, he built a dam at the end of Loch Sgathaig, allowing him to diverting the overflow into the Kilmory River (northwards), rather than the Abhainn Rhangail (southwards). In 1852, he attempted to dam the Kilmory River, half a mile north of Loch Sgathaig, the plan being to send the overflow into the Kinloch River via a short canal; unfortunately ''Salisbury's Dam'' collapsed shortly after being built.

In 1870, the island was sold to Farquhar Campbell, from [[Aros Castle|Aros]], a man keen on Rùm's potential for shooting. In 1888, he decided to sell it; the sale prospectus described Rùm as "''the most picturesque of the islands which lie off the west coast of Scotland''" and "''as a sporting estate it has at present few equals''". According to the sale documents, the population was between 60 and 70, all either shepherds or estate workers and their families. There were no crofts on the island.<ref>Love (2002) pages 222-23.</ref>

In 1888 the island was sold to John Bullough, a cotton machinery manufacturer (and self-made millionaire) from [[Accrington]] in Lancashire, who continued to use the island for recreational purposes. In the following year, counties were formally created in Scotland, on shrieval boundaries, by [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889|a dedicated Local Government Act]]; Rùm therefore became part of the new [[Argyllshire|county of Argyll]]. When Bullough died in 1891 he was buried on Rùm, in a rock-cut mausoleum, under an octagonal stone tower. His heirs, however, felt that this was beneath his dignity, and demolished it, moving his sarcophagus into an elaborate mausoleum modelled as a Greek temple, built in 1892<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB14122|desc=Isle of Rhum, Bullough Mausoleum, Harris|cat=B|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> and designed by [[William James Morley]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=217021 |title=Rum Mausoleum |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Dictionary of Scottish Architects |access-date=19 January 2019 }}</ref> Argyll, similarly, was not thought fitting for Rùm, and that same year{{refn|group="note"|1891}} was moved by boundary review to the [[Invernessshire|county of Inverness]], where [[Eigg]] already sat.

[[File:Kinloch Castle - geograph.org.uk - 2506621.jpg|left|thumb|Kinloch Castle]]
John was succeeded as owner of Rùm by his son, [[George Bullough, 1st Baronet Bullough|George]] (later Sir George). George built [[Kinloch Castle]] in 1900 using sandstone quarried at [[Annan, Dumfries and Galloway|Annan]]<ref>Scottish Natural Heritage (1999) page 9.</ref>{{refn|group="note"|some sources say the stone was from [[Isle of Arran|Arran]]<ref>See for example, McKirdy ''et al.'' (2007) page 144.</ref>}}. The interior boasted an [[orchestrion]] that could simulate the sounds of brass, drum and woodwind, an air-conditioned [[billiards]] room, and a [[jacuzzi]]. A dam was built on Coire Dubh burn for [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] purposes; the house was the first private home in Scotland, outside of [[Glasgow]], to have an electricity supply.

[[File:River and bridge at Kinloch Castle (geograph 3130850).jpg|thumb|Bridge in the Castle grounds]]
At this time there were about 100 people employed on the estate. Fourteen under-gardeners, who were paid extra to wear [[kilt]]s, worked on the extensive grounds that included a nine-hole golf course, tennis and [[Squash (sport)|squash]] courts, heated turtle and alligator ponds and an [[aviary]] including birds of paradise and humming birds. Soil for the grounds was imported from [[Ayrshire]] and figs, peaches, grapes and nectarines were grown in [[greenhouse]]s.

This opulence could not be sustained indefinitely, and the [[Wall Street crash]] badly damaged the family finances, decreasing their interest in, and visits to, Rùm. Sir George died in France, in July 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, and was interred in the family mausoleum on Rùm. His widow continued to visit Rùm as late as 1954. When in 1957 Lady Bullough sold the whole island, including the Castle and its contents, to the [[Nature Conservancy Council]]{{refn|group="note"|for the "''knock-down price of £23,000''"<ref>Love (2002) page 260.</ref>}}, on the understanding that it would be used as a [[national nature reserve (Scotland)|national nature reserve]],<ref name=Smith/><ref name=SNH/><ref>Rixson (2001) page 205.</ref> the mausoleum was the only part of Rùm not included in the sale. Lady Bullough died in London, in 1967, at the age of 98; she was buried next to her husband in the Rùm mausoleum.

==Ecology==
Rùm is an important study site for research in ecology and numerous academic papers have been produced based on work undertaken on the island. In addition to its status as a National Nature Reserve, Rùm was designated a [[Biosphere Reserve]] from 1976 to 2002,<ref>[http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2002/03/1355 "Four biosphere reserves delisted"]. (26 March 2002) Scottish Government. Retrieved 28 March 2011.</ref> a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] in 1987, and has seventeen sites scheduled as nationally important ancient monuments.<ref name=SNH/>

===Fauna===
[[File:Red deer.jpg|thumb|Red deer (''Cervus elaphus'')]]
The red deer population has been the subject of research for many years, recently under the leadership of [[Tim Clutton-Brock]] of the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref>See for example Clutton-Brock, T.H.; Coulson, T.N.; Milner-Gulland, E. J; Thomson, D.; Armstrong, H.M.; [www.iccs.org.uk/wp-content/papers/Clutton-Brock2002Nature.pdf ''Sex differences in emigration and mortality affect optimal management of deer populations.''] (2002) (pdf) Nature 415: 633-637.</ref> These efforts are based at the remote bay of Kilmory in the north of the island. It has been important in the development of [[sociobiology]] and [[behavioural ecology]], particularly in relation to the understanding of [[aggression]] through [[game theory]]. In November 2019 it was revealed that a 45-year study indicated that climate change had affected the gene pool of the red deer population on Rùm. Warmer temperatures resulted in deer giving birth on average three days earlier for each decade of the study. The gene which selects for earlier birth has increased in the population because hinds with the gene have more calves over their lifetime.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-50306365|title=Climate change alters red deer gene pool|date=5 November 2019|publisher=BBC News|access-date=6 November 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[File:Rum Ponies - geograph.org.uk - 151595.jpg|thumb|left|Rùm ponies]]
The island has small herds of [[pony|ponies]], feral goats (''Capra hircus'') and [[Highland cattle]]. The pony herd, which now numbers about a dozen animals, was first recorded on the island in 1772, and in 1775 they were described as being "very small, but a breed of eminent beauty".<ref>Gordon, I., Dunbar, R., Buckland D., and Miller, D. "Ponies, Cattle and Goats" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) pages 110-6. The pony quotation is Maclean of Coll, as told to Samuel Johnson.</ref> They are small in stature, averaging only 13 [[Hand (unit)|hands]] in height and all have a dark stripe down their backs and zebra stripes on their forelegs. These features have led to speculation that they may be related to primitive [[northern Europe]]an breeds, although it is more likely that they originate from the western [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]]. It is sometimes claimed that they are descended from animals that travelled with the [[Spanish Armada]], although it is probable that they arrived by more conventional means. The goat stocks were improved for [[Hunting|stalking]] in the early 20th century and acquired a reputation for the size of their horns and the thickness of their fleeces. The flock of about 200 spends most of its time on the western sea cliffs. The native cattle were re-introduced in 1970, having been absent since the 19th century clearances. The herd of 30 grazes in the Harris area from September to June, and further north in Glen Shellesder in the summer months.<ref name=Virtanen/><ref>Pennant, Thomas (1775) ''A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides 1772''. Republished by Birlinn, Edinburgh (1998).</ref><ref>Gordon, I., Dunbar, R., Buckland D., and Miller, D. "Ponies, Cattle and Goats" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) pages 110-6.</ref>

[[File:Greylag Geese (Anser anser) (geograph 2919191).jpg|thumb|Greylag Geese]]
[[File:Shags on Rubha Shamhnan Insir - geograph.org.uk - 818440.jpg|thumb|left|The common [[cormorant]]]]
Rùm is also noted for its bird life. The population of 70,000 [[Manx shearwater]] birds is one of the largest breeding colonies in the world. These migrating birds spend their winters in the South Atlantic off Brazil, and return to Rùm every summer to breed in burrows high in the Cuillin Hills. [[White-tailed eagle|White-tailed sea eagles]] were exterminated on the island by 1912 and later became extinct in Scotland. A programme of reintroduction began in 1975, and within ten years 82 young sea eagles from Norway had been released. There is now a successful breeding population in the wild.<ref name=SNH>[http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/nnr/The_Story_of_Rum_National_Nature_Reserve.pdf "The Story of Rum National Nature Reserve"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305001827/http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/nnr/The_Story_of_Rum_National_Nature_Reserve.pdf |date=5 March 2017 }} (pdf) Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 22 January 2016.</ref>

There are [[brown trout]], [[European eel]] and [[three-spined stickleback]] in the streams, and [[Atlantic salmon|salmon]] occasionally run in the Kinloch River.<ref>Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 143.</ref> The only [[amphibian]] found on Rùm is the [[palmate newt]] and the only [[reptile]] native to Rùm is the [[Viviparous lizard|common lizard]]. [[Invertebrate]]s are diverse and have been studied there since 1884, numerous species of [[damselfly]], [[dragonfly]], [[beetle]], [[butterfly|butterflies]], [[moth]]s etc. having been recorded. Several rare upland species are found on the ultrabasic slopes of Barkeval, Hallival and Askival including the ground beetles ''Leistus montanus'' and ''Amara quenseli''. The [[Highland midge|midge]] (''Culicoides impunctatus''), a biting gnat, occurs in "unbelievable numbers".<ref>Wormell, P. "Invertebrates of Rhum" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) pages 64-74.</ref>

In October 2006 the popular ''[[Autumnwatch]]'' series on [[BBC]] television showed coverage of the deer [[Rut (mammalian reproduction)|rut]] at Kilmory Bay.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061201213209/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/wildbritain/autumnwatch/animalupdates/index.shtml?reddeer "Autumnwatch animal action"] BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2007.</ref>

A {{convert|1.5|hectare|acre|adj=on}} patch of [[brown earth]] soil at the abandoned settlement of Papadil is home to a thriving population of [[earthworm]]s, which are rare in the elsewhere poor soil of the island.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Butt | first=K.R. | title=An oasis of fertility on a barren island: Earthworms at Papadil, Isle of Rum | journal=The Glasgow Naturalist | volume=26 | issue=2 | date=2015 | url=http://www.glasgownaturalhistory.org.uk/gn26_2/earthworms_butt.pdf | access-date=19 January 2016 }}</ref> Some individuals of ''[[Lumbricus terrestris]]'' have reached tremendous sizes, with the largest weighing 12.7 grams. This is speculated to be due to the good quality soil, and absence of predators.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12103254/Giant-worms-discovered-on-remote-Scottish-island.html | title=Giant worms discovered on remote Scottish island | last=Roberts | first=Elizabeth | date=16 January 2016 | website=The Telegraph | access-date=19 January 2016 | quote=Dr Butt believes the Rum worms are bigger than average due to their remote, undisturbed location, with good quality soil. Rum also lacks predators such as badgers, moles, hedgehogs and foxes which would usually gobble the worms before they had chance to grow into monsters. }}</ref>

===Flora===
[[File:Mountain Everlasting on Rum - geograph.org.uk - 1471286.jpg|thumb|upright|Mountain everlasting (on Rùm)]]
[[File:Thrift growing above beach at Samhnan Insir - geograph.org.uk - 997316.jpg|thumb|left|Thrift on a beach (on Rùm)]]
A tree nursery was established at Kinloch in 1960 in order to support a substantial programme of re-introducing twenty native species including [[silver birch]], [[Common hawthorn|hawthorn]], [[Sorbus aucuparia|rowan]] and [[Ilex aquifolium|holly]].<ref>Ball. M.E. "Botany, Woodland and Forestry" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 57.</ref> The forested area, which consists of over a million re-introduced native trees and shrubs, is essentially confined to the vicinity of Kinloch and the slopes near this site surrounding Loch Scresort and on nearby Meall á Ghoirtein.<ref name=Smith/> The island's flora came to widespread attention with the 1999 publication of the book ''A Rum Affair'' by [[Karl Sabbagh]], a British writer and television producer. The book told of a long-running scientific controversy over the alleged discovery of certain plants on Rùm by botanist [[John William Heslop-Harrison]]—discoveries that are now considered to be fraudulent. Heslop Harrison is widely believed to have placed many of these plants on the island himself to provide evidence for his theory about the geological development of the [[Hebrides|Hebridean islands]].<ref>Sabbagh, Karl (1999)</ref> Nonetheless, the native flora offers much of interest. There are rare [[Minuartia|arctic sandwort]] and [[Thlaspi caerulescens|alpine pennycress]], endemic varieties of the [[Dactylorhiza maculata|heath spotted-orchid]] and [[Euphrasia|eyebright]], as well as more common species such as [[sundew]], [[Pinguicula|butterwort]], [[Milkwort|blue heath milkwort]] and [[Rhodiola rosea|roseroot]].<ref name=Smith/> A total of 590 higher plant and fern taxa have been recorded.<ref>Ball. M.E. "Botany, Woodland and Forestry" in Clutton-Brock and Ball (1987) page 48.</ref>

===Protected and specialist areas===
{{Infobox protected area 
| name = Rùm National Nature Reserve
| iucn_category = II
| iucn_ref = <ref name=planet/>
| photo = Harris, Isle of Rum.jpg
| photo_caption = Harris Bay
| location = [[Small Isles]], Scotland
| nearest_city = 
| map = 
| relief = 
| map_caption = 
| coordinates = 
| area_km2 = 108.4
| area_ref = <ref name=nnr>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/5060|title=Rum NNR|publisher=NatureScot|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>
| established = 1957<ref name=planet/>
| governing_body = [[NatureScot]]
| visitation_num = 
| visitation_year = 
| url = [https://www.nature.scot/enjoying-outdoors/scotlands-national-nature-reserves/rum-national-nature-reserve Rum National Nature Reserve]
}}
Rum has a number of national and international conservation designations for its spectacular natural and built heritage, including:
* Rum [[National nature reserve (Scotland)|National Nature Reserve]] (NNR)
* [[Special Area of Conservation]] (SAC)<ref name=sac>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8371|title=Rum SAC|publisher=NatureScot|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>
* [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA)<ref name=spa>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8574|title=Rum SPA|publisher=NatureScot|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>
* [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI)<ref name=sssi>{{cite web|url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/1396|title=Rum SSSI|publisher=NatureScot|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>
* 7 [[Geological Conservation Review]] (GCR) Sites
* Rum is within the Lochaber [[Geopark]]
* Falls within the Small Isles [[National scenic area (Scotland)|National Scenic Area]] (NSA)
* 19 [[scheduled monument]]s (SAMs)
* The national nature reserve is classified as a [[IUCN protected area categories|Category II]] [[protected area]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]].<ref name=planet>{{cite web|url=https://www.protectedplanet.net/1450|title=Rum|publisher=Protected Planet|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>

==Economy, transport and culture==

The entire island is owned and managed as a single estate by [[NatureScot]]. There are a variety of small businesses on the island including accommodation providers as well as artists and crafters. Most of the residents live in the hamlet of Kinloch, in the east of the island, which has no church, restaurant or pub. It has a village hall, general shop and a post office,<ref>{{cite web|title=Kinloch|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst1970.html|access-date=19 November 2018|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland}}</ref> which is run as a private business. A small church has been transformed into a school, which counts 5 pupils as of 2022. A cafe opens in summer. Rùm has broadband internet access, installed by a salmon farming company.

In general the island has a transient population comprising employees of NatureScot and their families, researchers, and a teacher. Until recently NatureScot was opposed to the development of the island as a genuine community, but there has been a change in approach since the beginning of 2007. Di Alexander, development manager for the Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust has said: "It has been clear for many years that the small community on Rùm needs to increase and diversify its housing supply away from exclusively [[NatureScot|SNH]]-tied housing. Even a couple of new rented houses could make such a difference to the community's wellbeing."<ref name=OC/>

Surprisingly perhaps, on a {{convert|10500|ha|acre|adj=on}} estate with a population less than thirty, an issue has been lack of land for building. However, a spokesman for the agency has stated "Once we are clear what the trust's priorities are, we will release the land".<ref name=OC>O'Connell, Sanjida (17 October 2007) [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/oct/17/conservation.wildlife "Seeking sanctuary"] ''The Guardian''. London. Retrieved 18 October 2007.</ref>

In December it was announced that £250,000 of land and buildings were likely to be placed into community ownership, subject to a ballot of the electorate in January 2009.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ross |first=David |date=10 December 2008 |title=Islanders of Rum are ready to take control |quote=Just 23 can vote... but islanders of Rum are ready to take control. |location=Glasgow. |work=The Herald }}</ref> The transfer of 65&nbsp;hectares of mixed land, three crofts, 10 domestic properties and eight non-domestic properties in and around Kinloch village to the Isle of Rum Community Trust took place in two phases in 2009 and 2010.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 September 2010 |title=Scottish Natural Heritage - Isle of Rum |url=http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/Countryside/Management/SNH/isle-of-rum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916052232/https://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/Countryside/Management/SNH/isle-of-rum |archive-date=16 September 2017 |access-date=18 July 2018 |work=Scottish Government}}</ref>[[File:Before the slipway.... - Flickr - Graham Grinner Lewis.jpg|thumb|left|The old ferry pier at Kinloch]]
{{CalMac Mallaig ferries}}
A [[Caledonian MacBrayne]] ferry, {{MV|Lochnevis}}, links Rùm and the neighbouring Small Isles of Canna, Eigg and Muck, to the mainland port of [[Mallaig]] some {{convert|17|mi|km|abbr=off}} and {{frac|1|2}} hours sailing time away.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.calmac.co.uk/mallaig-eigg-muck-rum-canna-smallisles-summer-timetable |title=Small Isles ferry timetable |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828190138/https://www.calmac.co.uk/mallaig-eigg-muck-rum-canna-smallisles-summer-timetable |archive-date=28 August 2017 |work=Caledonian MacBrayne, Hebridean & Clyde Ferries |access-date=24 September 2007}}</ref> The Lochnevis has a [[landing craft]]-style stern ramp allowing vehicles to be driven onto and off the vessel at a new [[slipway]] constructed in 2001. However, visitors are not normally permitted to bring vehicles to the Small Isles. During the summer months the islands are also served by Arisaig Marine's ferry ''MV Sheerwater'' from Arisaig, {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=on}} south of Mallaig.

[[File:Eigg-and-Rum-from-mainland.jpg|thumb|The Rùm Cuillin from [[Moidart]], with [[Eigg]] in the middle distance]]
The best anchorage is Loch Scresort, with other bays offering only temporary respites from poor weather.<ref name=Smith/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://arisaig.co.uk/ |title=Island and Wildlife Cruises, The Gateway to the Small Isles |work=Arisaig Marine Ltd |access-date=24 February 2025 }}</ref> [[Robert Williams Buchanan|Robert Buchanan]] writing in the 19th century described it as:
<blockquote>As sweet a little nook as ever Ulysses mooned away a day in, during his memorable voyage homeward. Though merely a small bay, about a mile in breadth, and curving inland for a mile and a half, it is quite sheltered from all winds save the east, being flanked to the south and west by Haskeval and Hondeval<!--sic-->, and guarded on the northern side by a low range of heathery slopes. In this sunny time, the sheep are bleating from the shores, the yacht lies double, yacht and shadow, and the bay is painted richly with the clear reflection of the mountains.<ref>Buchanan, Robert (1872) ''The Hebrid Isles'' quoted in Cooper, Derek (1979) ''Road to the Isles: Travellers in the Hebrides 1770–1914''. London. Routledge & Kegan Paul. Page 117.</ref></blockquote>

In the summer of 2002 a [[Reality television|reality TV]] programme titled ''Escape from Experiment Island'' was filmed on the island. This short-lived show (six episodes) was produced by the BBC in conjunction with the [[Discovery Channel]]. The show was to piggyback on the success of ''Junkyard Wars'' by having the teams build vehicles to escape from the island.<ref name="EfEI">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2000502.stm |title=US gets new BBC realilty show |work=BBC News |date=21 May 2002 |access-date=27 October 2007}} The misspelling of 'reality' is in the original.</ref>

In August 2020 it was announced that four new homes would be built in the village of Kinloch in an effort to attract more people to live on the island.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 August 2020 |title='Off-grid' islanders appeal for new residents|language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-53904491 |access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref>

In 2024, the island was designated a [[Dark-sky preserve|Dark Sky Sanctuary]], only the second such place in Europe to be a sanctuary,<ref name=DarkSky2024 /> and the 23rd such place named in the world.<ref name=Hill2025>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/science/astronomy-dark-sky-rum.html?unlocked_article_code=1.z04.vwFg.HCh6A4KBcBIp&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare |title=Take a Look: A Dark Scottish Isle Where Starlight Reigns Supreme |work=The New York Times |first1=Kat |last1=Hill |first2=Nicholas J R |last2=White |date=24 February 2025 |access-date=27 February 2025 |quote=On a cold January day, the sun sets early and rises late, yielding to a blackness that envelopes the island, a blackness so deep that the light of stars manifests suddenly at dusk and the glow of the moon is bright enough to navigate by.}}</ref> The local effort, "a long meticulous bid", by the Isle of Rùm Community Trust was led by one of the newer residents of the island, Alex Mumford,<ref name=NPR2022 /> with  Lesley Watt, Rum's reserve officer, and the support of Steven Gray and James Green, two astronomers who started Cosmos Planetarium, a mobile theater on Rùm.<ref name=Hill2025 /> This status may attract visitors wanting to enjoy the night sky, and the best season for viewing is October to March. The people living on Rùm have "dark-sky awareness", which entails changes from typical daily life in the well-lit 21st century, specifically "no streetlights, light-flooded sports fields, neon signs, industrial sites or anything else casting a glow against the night sky."<ref name=Hill2025 />

The natural darkness is important also for the breeding colony of [[Manx shearwater]] birds on Rùm. The view of the night sky on clear nights is impressive, showing the stars, the Milky Way, meteors, and the Aurora Borealis or its sheen. View with a telescope to see more. An observatory is planned for the near future.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2024/oct/24/stargazing-isle-of-rum-scotland-hebrides-dark-sky-sanctuary#:~:text=Rum%20recently%20became%20the%20second,come%20to%20stargaze%20and%20explore. |title=Stargazing on the Isle of Rum, Scotland's first dark sky sanctuary |work=The Guardian |date=24 October 2024 |access-date=24 February 2025 |first=Stuart |last=Kenny }}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! Year
| 1595 || 1625 || 1728 || 1755 || 1764 || 1768 || 1772 || 1786 || 1794 || 1807 || 1821 || 1831 || 1841 || 1891 || 1991 || 2001|| 2011
|2022
|-
! Population
| 30–5 || 17+ || c.179 || 206 || 304 || 302 || 325 || 300 || 443 || 443 || 394 || 134 || 124 || 53 || 26 || 22<ref>{{GRO10}}</ref>|| 22<ref name=NRS>{{NRS1C}}</ref>||31<ref name=RESAS/>
|}
Rùm is one of the most sparsely populated of all Scottish islands. There is no indigenous population; the residents are a mixture of employees of [[NatureScot]] and their families, together with a number of researchers and a school teacher.<ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Assessment of Social Capital on Rum and the Small Isles |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1051/0054853.pdf |access-date=9 October 2009 |work=Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University}}</ref>

In the 21st century, Rùm's inhabitants have been seeking to attract more people to the island in order to boost their population.<ref name=NPR2022>{{Cite news |title=The Isle of Rum needed a population boost so they took applications. This guy made the cut |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/01/16/1073459225/the-isle-of-rum-needed-a-population-boost-so-they-took-applications-this-guy-mad |access-date=22 January 2022 }}</ref> Several hundred applications were in response to the campaign and the population increased to about 40.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Castle |first1=Stephen |title=As Its Population Soars to 40, Rum Isle Glimpses a Future in the Mist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/world/europe/rum-isle-scotland-hebrides.html |date=10 January 2022 |access-date=28 August 2022 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription}}</ref> At the time of the 2022 census the number of inhabitants was recorded as 31.<ref name=RESAS/>

==Climate==
As with the rest of the [[British Isles]], Rùm features a strongly [[maritime climate]] with cool summers and mild winters.

There is a MetOffice weather station at Kinloch providing long term climate observations.
{{Weather box
|location = Rùm ([[Kinloch, Isle of Rum|Kinloch]]): {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1960–2009
|collapsed = 
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 16.7
|Feb record high C = 13.9
|Mar record high C = 17.2
|Apr record high C = 23.0
|May record high C = 25.6
|Jun record high C = 27.9
|Jul record high C = 28.5
|Aug record high C = 27.5
|Sep record high C = 23.0
|Oct record high C = 20.1
|Nov record high C = 16.2
|Dec record high C = 14.2
|year record high C =  

|Jan high C = 7.8
|Feb high C = 7.8
|Mar high C = 9.2
|Apr high C = 11.1
|May high C = 14.8
|Jun high C = 15.8
|Jul high C = 17.6
|Aug high C = 17.7
|Sep high C = 15.8
|Oct high C = 12.6
|Nov high C = 10.0
|Dec high C = 7.9
|year high C = 

|Jan mean C = 5.2
|Feb mean C = 5.1
|Mar mean C = 6.3
|Apr mean C = 7.6
|May mean C = 10.3
|Jun mean C = 12.1
|Jul mean C = 13.9
|Aug mean C = 14.0
|Sep mean C = 12.1
|Oct mean C = 9.7
|Nov mean C = 7.3
|Dec mean C = 5.1
|year mean C = 

|Jan low C = 2.4
|Feb low C = 2.3
|Mar low C = 3.4
|Apr low C = 4.2
|May low C = 5.9
|Jun low C = 8.3
|Jul low C = 10.4
|Aug low C = 10.4
|Sep low C = 8.4
|Oct low C = 6.7
|Nov low C = 4.6
|Dec low C = 2.2
|year low C =

|Jan record low C = -9.5
|Feb record low C = -8.9
|Mar record low C = -6.5
|Apr record low C = -4.0
|May record low C = -2.8
|Jun record low C = -1.8
|Jul record low C = 1.5
|Aug record low C = 1.8
|Sep record low C = 0.1
|Oct record low C = -2.4
|Nov record low C = −5.4
|Dec record low C = -9.4
|year record low C = 

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 318.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 275.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 242.0
|Apr precipitation mm = 178.7
|May precipitation mm = 102.5
|Jun precipitation mm = 135.4
|Jul precipitation mm = 174.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 171.4
|Sep precipitation mm = 207.6
|Oct precipitation mm = 261.8
|Nov precipitation mm = 310.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 278.5
|year precipitation mm = 

|Jan precipitation days = 22.2
|Feb precipitation days = 21.0
|Mar precipitation days = 21.2
|Apr precipitation days = 17.0
|May precipitation days = 13.5
|Jun precipitation days = 14.5
|Jul precipitation days = 16.5
|Aug precipitation days = 15.7
|Sep precipitation days = 16.1
|Oct precipitation days = 19.8
|Nov precipitation days = 22.4
|Dec precipitation days = 22.0
|year precipitation days = 

|source 1 = Météo Climat<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://climate-datas-weather.dynalias.org/listenormale-1991-2020-5-p183.php
|title= United Kingdom climate normals 1991-2020
|publisher= Météo Climat
|access-date= 24 May 2024
}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|source 2 = [[Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute|KNMI]] (extremes)<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://climexp.knmi.nl/ecatmin.cgi?id=someone@somewhere&WMO=1873&STATION=RHUM:_KINLOCH&extraargs= | title = KNMI - Rùm, Kinloch minimum temperature time series | access-date = 24 May 2024 | publisher = [[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]]}}</ref>
}}

{{Weather box
|location = Isle of Rùm, Kinloch, {{cvt|5|m|ft|0}} asl, 1971–2000, Extremes 1960-
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 16.7
|Feb record high C = 13.5
|Mar record high C = 17.2
|Apr record high C = 23.0
|May record high C = 25.6
|Jun record high C = 27.9
|Jul record high C = 27.3
|Aug record high C = 27.5
|Sep record high C = 23.0
|Oct record high C = 20.1
|Nov record high C = 16.2
|Dec record high C = 14.2
|year record high C = 27.9
|Jan high C = 7.3
|Feb high C = 7.4
|Mar high C = 8.7
|Apr high C = 10.9
|May high C = 14.1
|Jun high C = 15.8
|Jul high C = 17.3
|Aug high C = 17.3
|Sep high C = 15.1
|Oct high C = 12.4
|Nov high C = 9.5
|Dec high C = 8.0
|year high C = 
|Jan low C = 2.1
|Feb low C = 2.1
|Mar low C = 2.8
|Apr low C = 3.7
|May low C = 5.8
|Jun low C = 8.2
|Jul low C = 10.4
|Aug low C = 10.3
|Sep low C = 8.7
|Oct low C = 6.8
|Nov low C = 4.0
|Dec low C = 2.8
|year low C = 
|Jan record low C = -9.5
|Feb record low C = −8.9
|Mar record low C = −6.5
|Apr record low C = −4.0
|May record low C = -2.8
|Jun record low C = -1.8
|Jul record low C = 1.5
|Aug record low C = 1.8
|Sep record low C = 0.1
|Oct record low C = -2.0
|Nov record low C = −5.4
|Dec record low C = -9.4
|year record low C = −9.5
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm = 303.71
|Feb precipitation mm = 228.83
|Mar precipitation mm = 257.6
|Apr precipitation mm = 146.55
|May precipitation mm = 110.76
|Jun precipitation mm = 132.58
|Jul precipitation mm = 164.85
|Aug precipitation mm = 199.31
|Sep precipitation mm = 266.08
|Oct precipitation mm = 282.69
|Nov precipitation mm = 313.18
|Dec precipitation mm = 295.7
|year precipitation mm = 2689.49
|source 1 = Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute/KNMI<ref>{{cite web | url = http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/mapserver/climatology.php?indexcat=**&indexid=RR&periodidselect=1971-2000&seasonid=0&scalelogidselect=no&minx=-798809.523809&miny=-4222857.142857&maxx=67857.142858&maxy=-3572857.142857&MapSize=560%2C420&imagewidth=560&imageheight=420&mainmap.x=245&mainmap.y=121&CMD=QUERY_POINT&CMD=QUERY_POINT#bottom | title = Rum climate Extremes | publisher = KNMI | access-date = 3 November 2011 | archive-date = 2 June 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120602143313/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/mapserver/climatology.php?indexcat=**&indexid=RR&periodidselect=1971-2000&seasonid=0&scalelogidselect=no&minx=-798809.523809&miny=-4222857.142857&maxx=67857.142858&maxy=-3572857.142857&MapSize=560,420&imagewidth=560&imageheight=420&mainmap.x=245&mainmap.y=121&CMD=QUERY_POINT&CMD=QUERY_POINT#bottom | url-status = dead }}</ref>
|source 2 = YR.NO<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Isle_of_Skye/statistics.html | title = 1971–2000 Averages for Kinloch | publisher = YR.NO | access-date = 3 November 2011 | archive-date = 13 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200813034452/https://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Isle_of_Skye/statistics.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>
|date=November 2011
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Scottish Islands|Scotland|Islands}}
* [[List of islands of Scotland]]
* [[Beccán mac Luigdech]]
* [[Religion of the Yellow Stick]]
* [[Geology of Scotland]]
* [[Timeline of prehistoric Scotland]]
* [[Rum layered intrusion]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Clutton-Brock, T. and Ball, M.E. (Eds) (1987) ''Rhum: The Natural History of an Island''. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press. {{ISBN|0-85224-513-0}}
* Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003) ''Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC—AD 1000''. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press. {{ISBN|0-7486-1736-1}}
* {{Haswell-Smith}}
* Love, John A. (2002) ''Rum: A Landscape Without Figures''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{ISBN|1-84158-224-7}}
* McKirdy, Alan Gordon, John & Crofts, Roger (2007) ''Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{ISBN|1-84158-357-X}}
* Rixson, Dennis (2001) ''The Small Isles: Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{ISBN|1-84158-154-2}}
* Sabbagh, Karl (1999) ''A Rum Affair''. London. Allen Lane. {{ISBN|0-7139-9277-8}}
* Scottish Natural Heritage (1999) ''Kinloch Castle'' Perth. SNH Publications. {{ISBN|1-85397-043-3}}

===Further reading===
* Cameron, Archie (1998) ''Bare Feet and Tackety Boots: A Boyhood on the Island of Rum''. Luath Press. {{ISBN|0-946487-17-0}}.
* John A. Love (2001) ''Rum: A Landscape Without Figures''. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
* Pearman, D.A.; Preston, C.D.; Rothero, G.P.; and Walker, K. J. (2008) ''The Flora of Rum''. Truro. D.A. Pearman. {{ISBN|978-0-9538111-3-7}}
* {{cite book | last = Scott | first = Alastair |year= 2018| title = Eccentric Wealth: The Bulloughs of Rum | location= Edinburgh| publisher =Birlinn |isbn = 978-1-912476-05-3}}

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage|Rum}}
{{Commons category|Rùm}}
* [http://www.road-to-the-isles.org.uk/thesmallisles.php Photos]
* [http://www.isleofrum.com/ Isle of Rum website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130102124930/http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/rum/ Rum National Nature Reserve]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151019002033/http://gateway.snh.gov.uk/sitelink/documentview.jsp?p_pa_code=1396&p_Doc_Type_ID=3 Site Management statement for Rùm Site of Special Scientific Interest]
* {{citation |url=https://darksky.org/news/rum-becomes-scotlands-first-international-dark-sky-sanctuary/ |title=Rùm becomes Scotland's first International Dark Sky Sanctuary |work=[[DarkSky International]] |date=23 August 2024 }}

{{Small Isles}}
{{Hebrides}}
{{Islands of Scotland}}
{{National Nature Reserves of Scotland}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|57|0|N|6|21|W|region:GB_type:isle|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rum}}
[[Category:Rùm| ]]
[[Category:Cleared places in the Inner Hebrides]]
[[Category:Community buyouts in Scotland]]
[[Category:National nature reserves in Scotland]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Rum and the Small Isles]]
[[Category:Extinct volcanoes]]
[[Category:Former biosphere reserves]]
[[Category:Paleogene volcanism]]
[[Category:Neolithic Scotland]]
[[Category:Islands of Highland (council area)]]
[[Category:Islands of the Inner Hebrides]]
[[Category:Small Isles, Lochaber]]