Rum's Kinloch Castle set to be sold

Kinloch Castle was built between 1897 and 1900

A former hunting lodge on Rum could be set for a new owner.

Kinloch Castle and most of the island are owned by public agency NatureScot.

The property was used as a hostel, but it closed in 2015 and parts of the site require restoration work.

A bid by community group Kinloch Castle Friends Association (KCFA) to take over the lodge and turn it into a 51-bed B&B with a museum was knocked back in 2019.

NatureScot said it was now in advanced talks with a businessman about buying the property and placing it into a charitable trust.

KCFA has welcomed the development and said it hoped the castle would be used for visitor accommodation, and its café and shop put back into use.

Catherine Duckworth, the association's honorary secretary, said Kinloch Castle was surrounded by construction site fencing making it look like it was in a semi-derelict state.

Red deer

Kinloch Castle was built between 1897 and 1900 as a hunting lodge for Lancastrian industrialist George Bullough and he had it luxuriously furnished.

It is the only example of a house designed by Leeming and Leeming, London-based architects specialising in commercial and municipal properties.

The property fell into decline after World War I and was taken over by NatureScot's predecessor, the Nature Conservancy Council, in 1957.

It has required extensive restoration work over the years.

Local councillor Angus MacDonald and Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, have welcomed the anticipated sale.

Robbie Kernahan, NatureScot’s director of green economy, said: “Kinloch Castle is a fantastic asset, but it isn’t a good fit for NatureScot with our strong focus on protecting and restoring Scotland’s nature.

"So we’re delighted that a new sustainable future for Kinloch Castle has been found and that the castle will continue to play an integral role for the community on Rum.”

Rum is in the Small Isles, south of Skye.

The island is well known for its large red deer population, which has been the subject of research since the 1950s.