Kilmory – Across Rum to a Beach Under the Cuillin of Skye
About 10 miles on foot.
This is a walk for someone staying on Rum.
In winter it needs two nights on the island, because the ferry leaves too little time ashore for 10 miles on foot, and from April the longer days make it a far easier thing to plan. A rough track crosses the island from Kinloch to Kilmory, a wide, empty beach of pale sand on the north coast with red deer in the dunes and the Cuillin of Skye across the water.
- Time
- About four hours' walking: 10 miles, or 16 km, there and back on a rough track, by the island community trust's figures. Allow five hours with time on the beach.
- The path
- A rough estate track nearly all the way, then dunes and sand. Long, with no shelter.
- Where to start
- Leave the car at Mallaig, where the West Bay car park charges and is five minutes' walk from the ferry and the East Bay one is free, 10 to 15 minutes away. No visitor's car goes to Rum.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off from Kinloch by 10am.
- When to go
- For someone staying on Rum. In winter it needs two nights on the island: on CalMac's timetable from 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027 the boat calls on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. From November to January set off by 10am. From April the days are long enough to take it at ease.
- Dogs
- Under control at all times, and kept away from the deer and from ground-nesting birds.
- Toilets
- None on the track. By the old pier and the campsite in Kinloch, and in the village hall. None at the ferry terminal.
- Before you set out
- For someone staying on Rum: in winter the ferry gives a day visitor at most 2 hours 50 minutes ashore. Researchers work at Kilmory in the calving season and often in the rut. Stags can be dangerous in the rut, around October. Stalking notices are posted in the village.
The walk
The walk starts at Kinloch, Rum's village, where the boat from Mallaig lands. No visitor's car goes to Rum, so leave it at Mallaig: the West Bay car park charges and is five minutes' walk from the ferry, and the East Bay one is free and 10 to 15 minutes away. Kilmory is on the north coast, at the far end of a rough track that climbs out of the village, runs up Kinloch Glen and comes down Kilmory Glen to the sea. The island's community trust gives it as 10 miles, or 16 km, there and back, and about two hours each way. It is track nearly all the way, so the going is plain, but it is long, with no shelter and nothing to buy. At the end is a wide beach of pale sand between low rocky points, with dunes of long grass behind it and the Cuillin of Skye across the water. Red deer are the other reason to come. Kilmory Glen is the study area of the Isle of Rum Red Deer Project, where the deer have gone unculled since 1972, and they graze the dune grass above the sand. Nothing is closed: the community trust says you may walk to any part of Rum at any time of year. But researchers work at Kilmory in the calving season and often in the autumn rut, so keep well back from them and from the deer.
Stags in the rut, around October, can be dangerous. Notices of deer stalking are posted in the village, so read them before you set out. Keep dogs under control at all times. Cille Mhoire, the old burial ground, is signed along the way. The only toilets are in Kinloch, by the old pier and in the village hall. From November to January, set off by 10am. In winter this isn't a day trip: the best the ferry gives is about 2 hours 50 minutes ashore. Come on Tuesday's boat, walk on the Wednesday and leave on Thursday's. Places to stay in Kinloch include Ivy Cottage Guest House, which gives its guests dinner, bed and breakfast and a packed lunch, the Rum Bunkhouse, with kitchens and a log burner, and camping cabins. Ring to ask about winter opening, and book a bed on the island before you book the boat.
Rum has no café. The village shop sells coffee, hot soup, fries and sandwiches, but don't count on it on a winter day: bring food. On CalMac's winter timetable, from 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027, the boat leaves Mallaig for Rum at 9.50am on a Tuesday and a Thursday, landing at 11.15am. On a Monday and a Saturday it leaves at 10.15am, landing at 2.10pm on the Monday and 11.40am on the Saturday. It leaves Rum for Mallaig at 2.30pm on a Monday, 2.25pm on a Tuesday and a Thursday, and noon on a Saturday. No boat runs on Tuesday 1 December or Tuesday 2 February, nor on 25 December or 1 January, and the Saturday times differ on 26 December and 2 January. Book the crossing ahead: CalMac's Mallaig office, on 01687 310240, option 2, takes bookings until 4pm on the working day before, and foot passengers check in 20 minutes before the boat sails. Rough weather can cancel the ferry for days in winter, so look at CalMac's service status page before you travel. From April the days are long enough to take the walk at ease, and Arisaig Marine also sails to Rum from May to August. Read that season's timetable before planning it as a day trip, as it needs five hours ashore.
If it rains
There's no shelter anywhere between Kinloch and Kilmory, and in cloud the Cuillin of Skye, half the point of the beach, is gone. Keep it for the dry day of your stay, and on a wet one walk to the otter hide by the ferry terminal instead.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby, on the island, first, then the crossing: CalMac's Mallaig office, on 01687 310240, option 2, takes bookings until 4pm on the working day before.
For further reading, before you go.