Scotland’s National Nature Reserves

For further information about Rum National Nature Reserve please contact: Scottish Natural Heritage, White House, Isle of Rum, Inverness-shire, PH43 4RR Telephone 01687 462026 Fax 01687 462805 E-mail: [email protected]

The Story of Rum National Nature Reserve

The Story of Rum National Nature Reserve Foreword

Extinct volcanoes, wilderness, and spectacular wildlife await visitors to Rum National Nature Reserve (NNR). The island of Rum lies 25 kilometres off the coast from Mallaig on the west coast of Scotland. Conical shaped mountains and ancient rock formations provide clues to the dramatic volcanic beginnings of Rum. Ice has also shaped this island, but it is the debris from the volcano that is responsible for one of the great marvels of Rum. Here, on a mountain top, is one of the world’s largest colony of Manx shearwater – at least 23% of the world’s breeding population.

Sea cliffs also support magnificent colonies of other seabirds, red-throated divers breed on inland lochans and golden and white-tailed sea eagles soar high above the mountains and moorland. More obscure wildlife includes rare plants, a rich diversity of mosses, lichen and fungi, and thousands of types of invertebrates. Otters also abound along the shorelines. An incredible mix of habitats supports this wealth of wildlife. Heaths, grasslands, sea cliffs, crevices and peatlands peppered with lochs and lochans have also earned the Reserve international recognition.

Thousands of people visit Rum each year, many to see the wildlife, others just to walk and enjoy the landscape. While much of the island looks wild and natural, it bears the imprint of human settlement over much of the last 8000 years. From Kinloch Castle to lazy beds, Rum’s past human history is a story in itself.

Rum is one of 58 NNRs in Scotland. Scotland’s NNRs are special places for nature, where some of the best examples of Scotland’s wildlife are managed. Every NNR is carefully managed both for nature and for people, giving visitors the opportunity to experience our rich natural heritage. More visitors than ever before are coming to Rum. A trend we aim to encourage whilst also ensuring Rum remains a special place for wildlife.

The Story of Rum National Nature Reserve contains background information about Rum NNR, describing the wildlife interest, its land use history and management since it became a Reserve. How we intend to manage the Reserve in future years is outlined in the Reserve Proposals. We invite your comments on these proposals and your feedback informs the production of the final Reserve Plan, which is the blueprint for management of the Reserve for the next few years.

For further information about Rum National Nature Reserve please contact: Scottish Natural Heritage, White House, Isle of Rum, Inverness-shire, PH43 4RR Telephone 01687 462026 Fax 01687 462805 E-mail: [email protected]

ii Contents

Foreword i Maps of Rum NNR iv 1 Introduction to Rum NNR 1 2 The Natural and Cultural Heritage of Rum NNR 5 3 Management of Rum before it became a NNR 18 4 Management of Rum NNR 22 5 Document properties 38 Appendix 1 – National Nature Reserves (NNR) 41 Appendix 2 – Special Area of Conservation (SAC) 43 Appendix 3 - Special Protection Area (SPA) 51 Appendix 4 - Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) 54 Appendix 5 - National Scenic Area (NSA) 58 Appendix 6 – Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Listed Buildings on Rum NNR 60 Appendix 7 – Reserve buildings on Rum 62

iii Maps of Rum NNR

Location Maps

Boundary of Rum NNR

iv Map showing key locations on Rum NNR

v 1 Introduction to Rum NNR

Things can get rough on Rum. Battered by gale-force winds for 50 days a year and drenched in up to four metres of rain, Rum NNR is certainly open to the elements. The island of Rum is the largest of the “Small Isles”, tucked in below Skye along with the other Small Isles of Eigg, Muck and Canna. Visitors arrive by sea, mostly on the ferry from Mallaig which docks in the relatively calm waters of Loch Scresort.

Rum’s most distinctive features, the Cuillins and the western hills, were formed 60 million years ago with the eruption of a volcano. The volcanic origins of Rum’s mountains may seem dramatic, but this small island bears testimony to other great events in the distant past. The mountains and hills are scarred by glaciers that ground their way through the island during the Ice Age. Rum also shows signs of higher sea- levels in the past. At Harris, an old beach is stranded 30 metres (m) above the present-day beach.

The Reserve covers 10,684 hectares (ha) of mountain and moorland fringed by precipitous cliffs plunging into the sea. It is cut across by glens that run down to flatter, more fertile ground at the coast. The varied landscape, harsh climate, maritime influence, and isolation from the mainland, have together produced an equally varied and distinctive range of habitats, plants and animals.

There is a spectacular array of internationally important habitats. A range of heaths from wet and dry to montane cloak the hillsides and mountain tops. Unusual grasslands, influenced by metals in the soil, fens, blanket bogs, lochs and lochans all contribute to this rich open ground habitat mosaic. In more precarious locations specialist scree and rock-crevice plants and a tall-herb vegetation found only on cliff ledges hang on.

Natural woodland is scarce on the Reserve with only scattered pockets of the original woodland surviving, mostly on cliffs or in gullies where grazing animals cannot reach it. Most of the woodland seen by visitors is the legacy of many years of tree planting management to restore woodland to the Reserve. Other habitats on Rum include small areas of machair and sand dune.

Some animals, common on the mainland, have never managed to make it across the short stretch of sea. There are no snakes, frogs or toads and few mammals. There is no doubt however, that the plants and animals that Rum does have make up a fascinating assemblage that draws many visitors to the island. Internationally important breeding colonies of seabirds, two species of eagle that nest regularly, red- throated divers, otters and invertebrates all thrive on the island. This wildlife resource and the island’s red deer population have made Rum world famous as a centre for ecological research.

1 Rum is easier to visit than ever, now that the ferry can dock directly at the quayside, and there’s plenty to do for visitors; fabulous scenery, great walking, world-class wildlife, fascinating history, and a castle with what is regarded as the best Edwardian interior in Britain.

Rum became Scotland’s second National Nature Reserve in 1957. It also hosts a whole suite of accolades in recognition of its internationally and nationally important natural heritage. Virtually the entire island is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) recognising the importance of the otter population and a wide range of upland, coastal and freshwater habitats. Rum is also designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) because of the internationally important breeding populations of Manx shearwaters, red-throated divers, and the wide range of other breeding seabirds. Many of these features are also included in the island’s designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The recognition as a European site of international importance (SPA and SAC) means that Rum is part of a Europe-wide suite of areas referred to as Natura sites. This extremely important group of sites includes for example, islands off the west coast of Ireland, in the Azores and in the Mediterranean, and high-profile national parks such as those in the Canary Islands. The inclusion of Rum in such impressive company reinforces the message that it can be considered as one of the best sites in Europe.

The Earth science importance of the Reserve is also recognised with no less than seven Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites, all of which are protected as

Rounded western hills in the foreground with the peaked Rum Cuillin beyond.

2 designated features within the SSSI. On a wider scale, Rum is included within the Lochaber Geopark and also falls within The Small Isles National Scenic Area (NSA).

Further details of these designations are provided in the Appendices.

Rum’s archaeological and built heritage has also been recognised, with 19 Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAM) and seven listed buildings, as well as a garden on the ‘Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes’.

Table 1 Designations and qualifying features for Rum NNR

Designation Special Area Special Site of Special for Protection Area Scientific Conservation European UK Habitats Machair – short-turf Proposed for grassland on shell sand removal Sand dunes Proposed for removal Sea cliffs 9 9 A range of upland 9 habitats, including: Base-rich scree 91 Dry heaths 91 Wet heathland with cross- 91 leaved heath Grasslands on soils rich in 9 heavy metals Species-rich grassland 9* with mat-grass in upland areas Blanket bogs 9* Alpine and sub-alpine 9 heaths Tall herb communities 9 Depressions on peat 9 substrates Base-rich fens 9 Acidic scree 9 Plants in crevices in base- 9 rich rocks Plants in crevices on acid 9 rocks

3 Designation Special Area Special Site of Special for Protection Area Scientific Conservation European UK Acid peat-stained lakes 91 Clear-water lakes 91 Species Breeding seabird 9 assemblage, including: guillemot and kittiwake Manx shearwater 9 9 Red throated diver 9 Otter 91 Vascular plant 9 assemblage Bryophyte assemblage 9 Invertebrate assemblage 9

Earth Science Quaternary of Scotland 9 Tertiary Igneous 9

1 Habitats or species that are primary reasons for selecting Rum as a SAC * Priority habitats under the EC Habitats Directive

4 2 The Natural and Cultural Heritage of Rum NNR

The range of internationally and nationally important heritage on Rum is so extensive that it’s difficult to do it justice in a short text. Here we have concentrated on those features of the island that have resulted in designation of some sort, and touch on others such as plants and insects that are scarce or threatened. Some aspects of Rum such as the deer and goats are well studied, but not protected – this work is described in later sections. There are other aspects that have hardly been studied at all such as the marine life around Rum; initial studies suggest that it may be as rich as the island itself.

Earth science

Rocks

The landscape and rocks of Rum tell of a turbulent past revealing evidence of significant events in the shaping of our Scottish landscape. Rum’s story begins some 3 billion years ago when some of the oldest rocks in the world, Lewisian gneiss, were formed. Since then the patch of the Earth’s surface which is now Rum has endured hot and arid climates, warm shallow tropical seas, and fiercely cold periods of ice and glaciers.

About 1 billion years ago powerful rivers flowed across the landscape of Lewisian gneiss accumulating a thickness of sands many kilometres in depth. These sands compressed to form Torridonian sandstones, which can be seen north of Kinloch. The land that is now Rum then experienced a long period of stability. Meanwhile, to the Exposed Torridonian sandstone, Kilmory south and east, the breaking apart of an ancient supercontinent and the later collision between two landmasses, destined to become Scotland and England, created a huge mountain range similar in scale to the Himalayas. Eroded down over the years this mountain range now forms the Scottish Highlands.

The next chapter in Rum’s story began about 250 million years ago when further deposits of sand and mud formed the Triassic sedimentary rock; a small area of which is visible on Monadh Dubh, north of Glen Shellesder.

5 Volcanoes and glaciers

At times the history of Rum has been truly violent. Explosive volcanic eruptions and the repeated collapse of Rum’s volcano gave shape to the island’s mountains. New rock types were formed – breccias, granites, gabbros and peridotite. Sheets of lava from neighbouring volcanoes also inundated the land forming the tops of Fionchra, Orval and Bloodstone Hill. Here, the distinctive red-flecked green agate (bloodstone) is found.

More recently, between 2.5 million and 10,000 years ago, large ice sheets and smaller local glaciers have repeatedly sculpted the landscape of Rum. Their effect on the different underlying rock types can be seen clearly from aerial views of the western hills and the Rum Cuillin.

The highest mountains on Rum remained free from ice during the last Ice Age. On these peaks intense frost shattered the rocks into loose blocks and scree. Continual freeze-thaw processes acting on these broken rocks have created distinct patterns of stones appearing as huge nets and stripes. Smaller examples continue to form today, testament to the exposure and extremes of weather experienced in the Rum hills.

Raised beaches

Sea levels have also changed over the last million years or so. These rise and falls have left stranded shorelines high on hillsides. Almost encircling the entire island is a dramatic rock shelf, 30 to 40 m above the present coastline. This marks the sea level as it was 100,000 years ago. Also, in several bays, old beaches five or six metres above present Raised beach at Harris high-water show the sea level from about 6000 years ago.

The exposed wet coastal climate of Rum has favoured the development of wet and peaty soils with only small areas of more fertile soil. Together these processes and events have made the remarkable landscape of Rum that we appreciate today.

More detail of Rum’s geology can be found in the SNH booklet “Rum and the Small Isles: a landscape fashioned by geology”.

6 Habitats

Heaths and peatlands

Heath vegetation covers about half of the Reserve and is found right across the island. Dry heaths are widely scattered and are found on the Cuillins, Mullach Mor, Sron an t-Saighdeir and on coastal cliffs and slopes. Rum has a range of dry heath types all influenced by the underlying soils. Where heaths lie on base-rich soils the vegetation is of particular interest forming a species-rich heath. Wild thyme is abundant in this habitat and plants such as mountain everlasting contribute to the varied flora of this heath. There are also unusual stands of this heath that are rich in mosses and liverworts found only in wet, mild areas. On acidic soils the vegetation is more typical of dry heaths found elsewhere in north-west Scotland, and includes species-poor heath dominated by heather and a type of heath rich in lower plants. The UK supports the largest proportion of dry heath in Europe.

Wet heaths are found mainly in the southwest of the Reserve and are also influenced by the underlying soil. Extensive areas of wet heath dominated by black bog-rush occur in areas where soils are flushed with base-rich water. This type of wet heath is restricted to western Scotland and only found on the Atlantic fringe of Europe, between Norway and Normandy. More acidic types of wet heaths are also found on the Reserve.

Alpine and sub-alpine heaths rich in moss and liverwort species are also found on the Reserve. One type is found in higher corries or on ridges with plenty of woolly-hair moss and patches of dwarf juniper.

Blanket bog occurs throughout the Reserve covering about 1,280 ha (12%) of the island, and often lying on level and gently sloping ground. Carpets of sphagnum moss interspersed with bog pools dominate the vegetation. The pools support the nationally scarce brown beak-sedge. Scotland holds the most extensive areas of blanket bog in the UK.

Other important peatland habitats on the Reserve include the low-lying areas around pool systems, rich in white beak-sedge, and some alkaline fens with common butterwort.

Grasslands and tall-herb vegetation

About 1,600 ha (15%) of the Reserve is covered by grassland. One-third of these grasslands is species-rich and can be found up to about 750 m. They display a whole variety of flowering plants including some uncommon ones such as small-white orchid, alpine lady’s mantle and field gentian. These species-rich grasslands are rare

7 in mainland Europe only being found in the cooler parts of mountain regions in central Europe and along the Atlantic fringe. Most UK locations are within Scotland.

The rocky debris on Ruinsival, and eastwards towards Sgurr nan Gillean supports a very rare and unusual type of grassland found only on ultrabasic soils with relatively high levels of heavy metals (such as zinc, lead or chromium). Sometimes this sort of grassland is found growing on mine spoil or on soils affected by water running out of mine workings. On Mossy cyphel Rum this is entirely natural vegetation affected directly by the underlying rock and includes rare plants such as arctic sandwort, purple saxifrage, and mossy cyphel. In Europe this habitat is very rare along the Atlantic fringe. There are only very few sites in Scotland with Rum being one of the best places in the UK to see this type of grassland.

Small patches of tall-herb vegetation can also be found on the Reserve. These occur mostly on cliff ledges, notably on Fionchra, where grazing animals can’t reach it. This type of habitat is very rare in the UK being found mostly in the Scottish Highlands.

Rocks and screes

Rum has various types of scree (slopes with masses of small loose rocks) including some quite small areas made up of basic rocks. A wide variety of mosses, liverworts and lichens thrive on these rocks and screes. On more gravelly slopes purple saxifrage, mountain everlasting, Scottish asphodel and coastal species such as sea plantain and thrift make up the unusual mix of plants. Where the scree is made up of larger rocks mountain sorrel, stone bramble and alpine penny-cress flourish. Because grazing animals avoid the areas of loose rock ferns such as hay-scented buckler fern can also thrive. This kind of scree habitat occurs in Europe mainly in and around the Alpine region. In the UK it is found mostly in Scotland but is very scattered.

The Reserve has other important areas of rocky habitat including scree with more acid rocks where a few plants manage to scrape out an existence. Crevices are found on both acid and basic rocks, and support some of the rarer plants found on Rum such as roseroot, brittle bladder fern and the nationally scarce alpine saxifrage.

Tiny areas of native woodland are also found in steep gullies and on cliff ledges.

8 Freshwater

The lochs of Rum are some of its most important habitats and they differ quite widely from place to place. Their most significant quality is that they contain little in the way of nutrients to encourage plant growth; so they have only a limited variety of specialist plants and animals. Where they are amongst bog and wet heath, for example at Mullach Mor, they are stained by peat and can be very acidic. Bog bean and bulbous rush flourish in these conditions. Scotland is the UK stronghold for this type of loch.

The majority of the Reserve’s lochs however occur where there is no peat; so the waters are clearer and less acidic. These lochs are scattered across the island at a range of altitudes with Loch Coire nan Grunnd (320 m) being one of the highest. Inland, water plants such as, awlwort and floating bur-reed can be found in these lochs. Near the coast lochs catch the salt spray and this, in turn, affects the plants that live in them.

Sea cliffs and coastal habitats

Rum’s sea cliffs fringe most of the island’s coast, and are principally sandstone and granite. They are of importance principally because of their extent and exposure, and as the habitat of the internationally important assemblage of breeding seabirds. At Kilmory and Samhnan Insir there are small pockets of sand dunes which, at Samhnan Insir, grade into machair (grassland on soil rich in shell sand). Despite their small size, about 4 ha in all, they are the largest intact area of dune and machair in the Small Isles.

Fauna and Flora

Mammals

Rum has very few native wild mammals simply because of its isolation from the mainland since before the Ice Age. Amongst others there are no rabbits, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, voles, house mice, moles, squirrels or roe deer.

The Reserve is a however a hotspot for otters. With its Otter

9 extensive coastline, wide range of small rivers, streams, inland lochs and lochans Rum is an ideal place for these often elusive animals. Otters breed all around the island with four known holts just around Loch Scresort.

Scotland is the UK stronghold for otter with close to 90% (8,000) of the UK population living here.

Rum is famous for its red deer which roam freely over much of the Reserve. The island is considered an important refuge for the species because the deer population are protected from the possibility of hybridising with sika deer which occur on the mainland.

Other mammals on the Reserve include at least two species of bat. Pipistrelle bats roost in the Castle and in several other buildings around Kinloch. Recently Daubenton’s bats have been seen picking insects off the water surface at Rockery Burn. Pygmy shrew, wood mouse, grey seal and common seal also make their home on Rum.

Birds

Seabird assemblage

Rum is recognised internationally because of its huge number of breeding seabirds; the island regularly supporting more than 130,000 birds during the breeding season (5 year mean at 1992). Eleven different species of seabirds make up this assemblage including guillemots (2808 pairs), kittiwakes (1918 pairs), fulmar (484 pairs), razorbills (456 pairs) and Rum’s most important breeding seabird, the Manx shearwater (data from 2006 counts). The main seabird colonies are on the sea cliffs of the south coast near Dibidil. The only exception to this is the mountain-top breeding ground of the Manx shearwater.

Manx shearwater

After a journey of 10,000 miles from the coast of South America around 120,000 1 pairs (2001) of Manx shearwaters return to the tops Manx shearwater

1 The most recent population count (2001) of Manx shearwater is a rough estimate. The nocturnal burrowing habit of Manx shearwaters makes it difficult to determine whether burrows are occupied or not. This means that robust, reliable counts of these birds are difficult.

10 of the Cuillins each March. This is one of the largest colonies of these birds anywhere in the world. Feeding at sea by day they mass together in huge rafts before coming ashore under cover of darkness. On land they burrow into the soft volcanic soil of Askival, Hallival, Barkeval and Trollaval to make their nests. Hearing their nocturnal calls from the mountain-top Viking visitors to Rum thought that the mountains were inhabited by trolls (hence Trollaval)!

At least 23% of the world’s breeding population of Manx shearwater breed on Rum.

Red-throated diver

Between, eight and fifteen pairs of red-throated diver breed on the Reserve. They nest close to the water’s edge on the small freshwater lochans that pepper Rum and fly out to sea to feed. Despite, their nests being susceptible to flooding, in most years, the Rum birds manage to rear five or six fledglings.

Rum regularly supports more than 1% of the UK breeding population, with on average 10 pairs breeding each year. In the UK, the breeding strongholds are in Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, Sutherland and Wester Ross.

Graph showing breeding success of red-throated divers on Rum 1996 - 2008

16

Breeding Pairs 14 No. chicks fledged 12

10

8

6

4

2

0 1996 2000 2004 2008

Eagles

Two species of eagle breed on the Reserve. Three pairs of golden eagle nest here regularly which is now just below 1% of the UK population. The number of breeding pairs has remained constant since our records started; each pair using a distinct home

11 range and a set of traditional eyries (nests). Their breeding success has been variable with anything from one to four eaglets (3 in 2008) fledging on the island in any year. Young birds will often stay around Rum, so it is not unusual to see 2-4 birds at any one time.

Rum also has two pairs of white-tailed sea eagles. The Reserve was the location for the release of the first sea eagles from the re-introduction project during the 1970s and ‘80s. Most surviving birds dispersed and formed small breeding centres on Mull, Skye and the Western Isles. Sea eagles are now well established on the west coast with over 40 breeding pairs in total and several pairs breeding on the mainland. Since 1995 Rum has supported two nests each year, and over the whole fourteen- year period three eaglets have fledged.

Graph showing breeding success of golden eagle on Rum 1995 – 2008

5 No. of chicks fledged 4

3

2

1

0 1995 1998 2001 2004 2008

Other birds

Two hundred and six species of bird have been recorded on the Reserve with approximately 90 species breeding on the island. Amongst these there are 13 UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) species including twite, skylark and song thrush. Britain’s smallest bird of prey, the merlin, nests on the open heath, and over the last seven seasons, on average, 2-3 pairs have nested raising at least 10 fledglings each year. Hen harriers are a welcomed recent addition to the Reserve’s list of breeding birds. They are seen regularly just passing through during migration, but in 2005 a pair nested in the north of the island successfully raising three chicks. They came back in 2006 this time raising two chicks, but did not attempt to nest in 2007 or 2008. Hopefully, they will find a permanent territory on Rum. Golden plover, teal and red- breasted mergansers also breed in good numbers on the Reserve, and in 2008 we recorded sand martin breeding for the first time.

12 Invertebrates

The Reserve has an exceptional variety of invertebrate species especially considering the island’s remoteness and inhospitable climate and terrain. The insect list for the Reserve runs to an impressive 2418 species which is about 10% of the total British insect fauna. This includes 15 Red Data Book (RDB) species and 62 Small pearl-bordered fritillary nationally scarce species; one of the highest numbers for any upland site in the UK. The insect community is more like that of south-west Scotland and western Britain generally, rather than the Highlands, though there are a few Highland and montane species. The insect assemblage on the Reserve includes 19 species of butterfly with 11 of these breeding on the island. The commonest butterfly is probably the small heath which is abundant on heath and grassland up to an altitude of 300 m. Other butterflies include the large heath, meadow brown, small pearl-bordered fritillary (UKBAP), and dark-green fritillary. Woodland species are represented only by the speckled wood. The Reserve also supports 500 species of moth including the nationally scarce transparent burnet and 3 other UKBAP species - argent and sable, narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth and goat moth. The transparent burnet can be found feeding on wild thyme and needs areas of dry heath where there is bare ground and thin soils, often around rock outcrops.

There are 11 species of dragonfly breeding on the Reserve. They are all moorland species typical of the west Highlands and Islands. The most notable, because it occurs only in a few areas of Scotland, is the azure hawker.

We have recorded over 500 species of beetles including 9 UKBAP species. Flies are also numerous especially in the form of biting midges which cause great discomfort to visitors during the summer, from late May until September.

Higher Plants

The Reserve’s plants have been well surveyed with about 600 species of native higher plants being recorded since 2000. There are 11 RDB species and 12 UKBAP species including arctic sandwort, pyramidal bugle, wood bitter-vetch and alpine penny-cress. The Rum population of arctic sandwort is the second largest in the UK;

13 plants are scattered but plentiful on the rock debris of Ruinsival. Small colonies of pyramidal bugle are found in the maritime grassland and heath, and on sea-cliffs. In ravines large cascading patches of wood bitter-vetch are found with their attractive pale pink-purple flowers. Wood bitter-vetch is quite rare along the west coast of Scotland, and the Rum populations are large and important.

The Reserve is an important stronghold for the internationally threatened pillwort and rare Lapland marsh orchid. Pillwort flourishes at one location on Rum spreading each year. The Lapland marsh orchid was first found in Britain in 1967 but not properly named until 1988. There are scattered populations of this orchid across the Western Isles and the western mainland. The Reserve Pyramidal bugle has just one small population.

Most of these rare and protected plants are associated with the montane, sub- montane and coastal habitats.

Lower Plants and Fungi

For a relatively small island there is a remarkably diverse moss and liverwort (bryophyte) flora. In 2004 a survey recorded 468 taxa on Rum nearly 50% of the UK moss and liverwort flora (Rothero, 2004). Of these species three are nationally rare, three are Scottish endemics, five are listed in the RDB and 68 are nationally scarce. This diversity reflects the wide range of habitats that occur on Rum and the clean oceanic climate (warm winters with lots of rain!).

One of the most important bryophyte communities, which is widespread but patchy on the more montane parts of the island, is the assemblage of oceanic-montane liverworts that occurs in association with dwarf shrub heath on steep and rocky slopes. Common species include western earwort, Taylor’s flapwort and purple spoonwort, but within this, on the best sites, occur uncommon species like Hutchins juniper prongwort, Wood's and arch-leaved whipworts and Carrington's featherwort. All of these species are rare in Europe and the community is of international importance.

14 On rock faces by burns, particularly in ravines, and on very sheltered boulders below crags stands of small Atlantic liverworts are frequent including pearl, western and pointed pounceworts. The best examples of these communities are found on the Torridonian sandstone of the raised-beach cliff line in the northeast of the island. The small stand of this community on Fionchra is particularly important as it contains the nationally scarce UKBAP species, Wilson's pouchwort. Fionchra and Bealach an Oir also supports excellent populations of Scottish beard-moss, a nationally rare Scottish endemic which is also a UKBAP species.

The most notable species on the ultra-basic rocks is the nationally scarce black-tufted moss which is widespread on open crags and large isolated boulders. A few of the flushes in these areas have small stands of the nationally scarce three-ranked spear- moss, and in the flushed grassland nearby, there are stands of Irish crisp-moss.

Rum’s wet heath is one of only 3 sites in the UK to support a recently described species of bog moss, Skye bog-moss. Endemic to the UK until 2004 this plant was only known as an enigmatic record from Skye, but has now been shown to be widespread on that island, on Rum and on Harris.

Rum has been well studied for fungi by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, and an amazing 900 species have been recorded. One of the key habitats is the semi-unimproved grassland which supports 25 species of the colourful waxcap fungi including the provisional European RDB species: goblet, spangle, earthy, slimy, nitrous and fibrous waxcaps. British RDB species include golden chanterelle, violet coral and olive earthtongue. This diversity makes Rum an internationally important site for grassland fungi.

The clean, oceanic climate and long periods of habitat continuity on Rum are also good for lichens. There are 400 lichen species of which 64 are nationally scarce and two are nationally rare. Four of the species are UKBAP priority species. The most important habitats for these species on Rum are open rocks in the mountains and around the coast.

Archaeological, historical and cultural heritage

Rum is steeped in archaeological and cultural history much more so than most Scottish NNRs. The wealth of archaeological sites (see Appendix 6(a)) on the Reserve graphically demonstrates many aspects of the island’s history. The more important remains include townships and farmsteads, monuments, forts, cairns, middens, shielings, deer traps, and a 19th century dam. There are a few other structures including a circular enclosure at Harris, a possible Norse burial cyst near Bagh na h- Uamha and the graveyard at Kilmory.

15 Dwellings and community remains

Groups of dwellings are found in a number of places across the island with the largest concentrations at Harris, Kinloch, Kilmory, Port na Caranean, Bagh na h-Uamha and Camas Pliasgaig. The pattern of occupation shows how every substantial area of fertile land on the island was brought into use. In places buildings or remains, from different times, can be seen side-by- side, a vivid expression of the Graveyard at Kilmory successive occupation of the land.

The most numerous remains on the Reserve are those of shielings. These tiny huts were occupied by womenfolk during the summer when stock were kept away from the settlements to prevent them damaging crops. Rum has about 400 shielings which fall into three distinct types.

Although there are no confirmed records of an Early Christian community on Rum two incised stones from that period indicate that there probably was one. The graveyard at Kilmory has a stone with three crosses, and a further stone was found on the beach at Bagh na h-Uamha.

Forts

The promontory forts at Kilmory and Shellesder are thought to be Iron Age in origin, the only sites from this period known on the whole island. As such they are very important to the understanding of the history of Rum.

Bloodstone, shells and bones

As so often is the case it was the geology of Rum that first drew people to visit regularly right back in the Middle Stone Age. They came because Rum has a ready supply of bloodstone, a green form of agate with red flecks of iron minerals. Scotland had a shortage of stone suitable for making implements, but bloodstone could be worked like flint. Scatters of stone implements have been found on Rum possibly marking the places where Middle Stone Age people camped when visiting Rum to collect bloodstone and shape it into tools. Rum bloodstone implements have also been found nearby on islands and the mainland. More recently it has been treated as a gemstone; Queen Victoria was presented with a table made from Rum bloodstone.

16

When people visited Rum they left their mark. Seashells and bones – of sheep, deer, horses, seals and seabirds – have been found in a deep midden in a cave at Bagh na h-Uamha. These are thought to have accumulated over a long period possibly from Middle Stone Age to Viking times. There are also cairns on Rum but none have been investigated yet to determine what their purpose was, and their age is often not clear.

Deer traps

Deer traps are known from other parts of Scotland, but those on Rum are possibly the best preserved anywhere. Two traps are known on the island, but as deer traps on Rum were described as “numerous” in the past it seems possible that there may be others to discover. One trap can be seen at Orval; the other is between Ard Nev and Orval.

More recent structures

The Reserve also has a number of complete structures and buildings of historical importance including a pier, kiln and gazebo (see Appendix 6(b)). The most obvious, and spectacular, of these is Kinloch Castle itself. The multi-millionaire, George Bullough, built the Castle at the end of the 1890s. It has been described as a fantasy castle; money was clearly no object, and Bullough made it as ostentatious on the inside as it was on the outside. Every conceivable technological comfort was included; central heating, electric lighting powered by a hydro-generator, and the Orchestrion, an automatic orchestra programmed by punched paper rolls. The Castle is thought to have the finest surviving Edwardian interior in the UK.

A quarter of a million tons of best Ayrshire topsoil were imported to make the gardens, bowling greens and golf course, and the remaining gardens are included in Historic Scotland’s Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.

17 3 Management of Rum before it became a NNR

History of Rum

About People visit Rum for the “bloodstone” found on the west side of 8500 years the island. ago 7500-8500 People settle just outside Kinloch in one of the earliest known sites years ago in the whole of Scotland. 800-1100 We don’t know if the Vikings colonised Rum, but there is at least one Viking burial site on the island, and many of Rum’s place names are Viking in origin for example, all those ending in ‘val. 1400 – Rum’s human population grows from a few to a peak of 443. 1800 c. 1800 The original deer population becomes extinct, and the last woodland copse is felled. 1819 The first geological map of Rum is produced. 1826-28 The entire human population of 350 is cleared from Rum and sent to Port Hawksbury, Nova Scotia, Canada. They are replaced by a new tenant and 8000 sheep. Shortly after, twelve families were brought from Mull and Skye to manage the sheep. 1845 A new owner, the second Marquis of Salisbury, sets about transforming the island into a typical Victorian Highland estate, strong on field sports. 1871 The birds of Rum are described in The Birds of the West of Scotland, including the Outer Hebrides. 1884 The earliest records of insects (water beetles) from Rum are published. 1886 The botany of Rum is first described. 1886 Rum is bought by John Bullough, a wealthy industrialist from Lancashire who further develops the sporting estate, and starts a large-scale programme of tree planting at Kinloch. 1891-1901 Rum passes to George Bullough who builds Kinloch Castle. 1908-12 The last white-tailed sea eagle on Rum is shot. 1914 The outbreak of the Great War and the Kinloch estate is in decline. The deterioration continues after the end of the war. 1949 Rum is recommended as a Nature Conservation Area in the government’s Nature Reserves in Scotland report. 1957 George Bullough’s widow sells Rum to the Nature Conservancy.

18 Land use history

People survived on Rum in the past by working its land and using its natural products. Much of the land has been used as rough grazing, but there is evidence of cultivation, managed woodland, and peat digging. These provide the basic needs for survival in such a wild and remote place. A visitor in the early 19th century described Rum as “…one heap of rude land, scarcely possessing an acre of level land. It is the wildest and most repulsive of all the islands.”. Yet an earlier visitor had been surprised, in 1764, by the size of the population living on such a small area of unproductive land. And the population continued to grow from just a few folk before 1700, to about 180 in 1728, 304 by about 1770, and peaking at 443 in 1795.

Cultivation, timber and fuel

Cultivation only really took off on Rum in the 18th century. Even then there was never more than about 400 ha of cultivated land (about 3.5% of the island), much of it so-called “lazy beds”, shared between crofters through the runrig system. This was all largely

abandoned when the Lazy beds at Harris crofters were cleared from the island in 1825 and 1826. Some new cultivation was started around 1900 when an estate farm was established at Kinloch.

Woodland seems to have largely disappeared from Rum, by the beginning of the 19th century, except where tiny patches clung on in the steeper gullies and on cliff ledges. The Kinloch estate planted areas of policy woodland at the turn of the 20th century mostly around Kinloch Castle. For fuel the crofters used turf (dried peat sods).

Domestic grazing

The main land-use on the island seems to have been grazing animals. Domestic farmed livestock kept by crofters included black cattle, goats and small native sheep. These were kept on communal pastures in and around the villages during the colder months, but in summer were grazed in the hills. Goats were kept in large numbers towards the end of the 18th century when their hair was exported to Glasgow for wig- making. Later they were valued as sporting trophies by the Victorian owners and

19 visitors, and attempts were made to improve their characteristics by introductions from mainland herds in the early 1900s.

Eight thousand sheep were imported onto Rum in the 1820s. This was not a successful enterprise, but flocks totalling about 5000 were maintained in the mid-19th century. This period also saw the beginnings of Goats drainage schemes in Kinloch Glen apparently to help support the sheep. The flock was gradually reduced in size through the turn of the century until they had completely disappeared from the island by 1926. Some new grazing tenancies were created during and immediately after the Second World War, and there were about 40 cattle and around 1700 sheep on Rum when it was sold to our predecessor, the Nature Conservancy.

The mix of domestic grazing animals on Rum included ponies. Early farmers probably brought Celtic breeds of ponies with them. We suspect that these ponies interbred with Norse ponies, during the Viking occupation, which could explain the strong resemblance of Rum ponies to Haflingers and Fjord ponies of Norway.

After the Clearances the ponies ran wild on the island, but had almost died out by 1888. The numbers were built up again by the introduction of new blood. The ponies ranged free on the hills for most of the year, and were gathered up annually and the surplus sold off in Oban. During much of the 19th century numbers seem to have fluctuated between seven and twenty.

Wild grazers and sporting interests

Red deer were common on Rum in the 16th century, and an important source of food for the inhabitants. The remnants of deer traps illustrate how they were hunted in the days before firearms. Maintaining the deer herd would have been important, but as the human population rose towards the end of the 18th century deer numbers declined until there were only about 80 in 1772. They had completely disappeared by 1787. Deer were re-introduced to the island in the 1840s when the island was re-stocked as a sporting estate; both red and fallow deer were brought in, but only the red survived and thrived. The current deer population originates from a variety of introductions from different sources.

Sporting interests introduced other species to Rum including mountain hare, partridge and pheasant, but these didn’t survive. Other game birds included snipe, woodcock

20 and red grouse – the numbers of grouse were never high because Rum is too wet for good heather.

Recreation and research

Although Rum gained a reputation for being a forbidden isle visitors may have been encouraged by Sir Hugh Munro’s description, in 1891, of the attractions of the Cuillins. Rock climbing on Rum began around 1932 when the mountaineering clubs of Cambridge and Oxford Universities explored routes on Hallival. Studies of the wildlife were being made from at least the 1870s when the birds were described, with plants and insect records following soon afterwards.

Studies continued during the 20th century with the work of Professor John William Heslop-Harrison during the 1930s and ‘40s achieving a degree of notoriety. Heslop- Harrison’s work on Rum was the subject of a major academic scandal sometimes referred to as botany’s “Piltdown Man”. He is believed to have planted several rare species on Rum, then to have “discovered” them using their presence on the island to support his theory that some parts of the Hebrides didn’t lose their vegetation in the last Ice Age. More recently his work has been subjected to further scrutiny, and it seems that he made other questionable discoveries. Work on Rum by members of the Botanical Society of the British Isles partly restores his reputation. It seems that much of the work he did on Rum was of good quality, and that many of his records, albeit not his theory, can be trusted.

Summary

By the time Rum became a National Nature Reserve, the landscape and vegetation had been shaped by deforestation and widespread grazing of domestic animals, mainly sheep, and latterly deer, the population having been built up for sporting purposes.

21 4 Management of Rum NNR

Key events in the history of Rum since it became a NNR are as follows:

1957 Rum is declared a National Nature Reserve and the first warden/naturalist is appointed. 1958 Rum is notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Red deer research begins, and the first trees are planted as part of a woodland restoration scheme. 1960 Rum has a total staff of nine. 1960s The nine major plant communities of the island are mapped. The rare upland moth Scrobipalpa murinella is recorded for the first time in Britain – on Rum. 1960-64 The first management plan is in operation. The emphasis is on research to discover how best to recreate the natural character of a Hebridean island. 1964 The first Reserve list of fungi is drawn up. 1965 The first Reserve list of flowering plants, ferns, bryophytes, lichens and stoneworts is drawn up. 1965-69 The second management plan is in operation. The primary objective is to restore vegetation that has been lost from the island, principally woodland. 1970-74 The third management plan is in operation; a more sophisticated plan that identifies important open habitats that will not be planted with trees. 1971 Hill cattle are introduced and numbers built up to 50 by 1975. 1972 Start of Kilmory (Block 4) deer research. 1975-85 The Reserve is the release site for the re-introduction of white-tailed sea eagle. 1976 Rum is declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. 1977-82 The fourth management plan is in operation. This plan tries to establish an ecosystem approach to managing the Reserve, still aiming for restoration of woodland, but looking for ways to do this with fewer inputs. 1977 Planting of 648 ha of woodland in the North Side exclosure is completed. 1978 A second exclosure is erected on the south side of Kinloch. 1981 Liverpool University starts to study the goat population. 1982 Rum is classified as a Special Protection Area under the EC Wild Birds Directive. First catalogue of Rum’s insects is published, including three species of aphid new to the British Isles, and ten new to Scotland. Monitoring of grey seal breeding sites begins.

22 1985 The first white-tailed sea eagle chick for 70 years fledges in Scotland as a result of releases from Rum. 1987- The fifth management plan is in operation. The aim is to allow natural 1996 development with minimum management necessary. There is more emphasis on encouraging educational and research use of the Reserve. 1991 Start of the 10 year deer management study. 1996 The first white-tailed sea eagle chick fledges on Rum. 1997 The Reserve celebrates its 40th anniversary, and plants its millionth tree. 1998 - Sixth management plan is in operation. The plan undertakes to 2008 extend woodland restoration to other parts of the island, necessitating a reduction in deer numbers. Commitments are also included to expand knowledge of the marine environment around Rum, to encourage visitors, and to develop further our understanding of the cultural heritage of the island. 2000 Completion of the deer management study. 2002 Rum is removed from the list of Biosphere Reserves, in common with three other Scottish sites that don’t meet the revised criteria for this designation. 2003 An extensive Environmental Statement is prepared, to examine the likely impact of proposals for tree-planting on the Reserve. Kinloch Castle reaches the semi-final of the BBC TV’s Restoration series. The new pier is completed, and the ferry from Mallaig can now dock at Rum. 2005 Rum is designated as a Special Area for Conservation. The Reserve Display Centre opens. 2006 The largest earthworm in Britain is found on Rum! 2006 & Rum features on BBC TV’s Autumnwatch, seen by 11 million viewers. 2007 2008 Nature trail and otter hide are completed at Kinloch. Commercial deer stalking was contracted out over part of the Island, to support independent economic activity on Rum. 2009 The Isle of Rum Community Trust takes ownership of the first area of land within Kinloch Village & appoint a Countryside Ranger, with support by SNH.

Management of the Natural Heritage

Rum is a large and complicated Reserve. Our main focus for management over the years has been woodland restoration and the management of deer to maintain

23 important upland habitats and species. There have been many other projects running in parallel.

Woodland restoration

Most of Rum’s original woodland has been lost over the centuries. Throughout the Reserve’s long history a key aim has been to recreate something approaching the original Hebridean woodland. There was little experience of woodland restoration in the 1950s, so we set up experimental planting plots on differing soils and situations around the island. With deer numbers being so high, at the time, it was decided to plant providing protection from browsing using fencing. Five planting plots were fenced off in 1958, and at least a dozen plots in total were set up between 1958 and 1977 at various sites including Kilmory, Kinloch Glen, Harris, Papadil and Glen Guirdil. Two high altitude plots were also established at Ard Nev and Ard Mheall. We also started a nursery at Kinloch to help supply tree seedlings. Altogether, over one million trees of 20 or more different species were planted in the first 40 years.

Map showing woodland on Rum NNR

24 In 2005, we commissioned a review of our tree planting activities on the Reserve. The review concluded that we have managed to establish a significant area of native species woodland on the Reserve over a range of fenced sites. Woodland development has been best in the lower, more sheltered areas lying on mineral soils. Even on exposed sites with wetter, peaty soils woodland has still managed to establish, but is doing so at a slower rate. Poor soil fertility and exposure to wind seem to be the dominant factors limiting tree growth on Rum. Where trees have established well such as, at Harris and Kilmory, there has also been some colonisation by typical woodland ground-cover species. In these woodlands, lichen and fungi are also evident and woodland birds have re-colonised.

We undertook further planting in 2008 on the east coast. This planting was carefully planned to ensure that the important moorland habitats remain free of trees. We have

Woodland restoration on Rum protected this area with fencing initially, but aim to remove the fences as soon as the trees are no longer vulnerable to browsing from deer and goats.

Whilst the planting has been generally successful natural regeneration from the established stands has been minimal. In many areas the heath and grassland vegetation is too dense to enable seedlings to become established. Where ground disturbance has enabled seedlings to grow high levels of browsing by deer and goats result in little regeneration developing above the sward. As a result the potential expansion of second generation semi-natural woodland has not occurred.

25 Deer and goat management

Left with the legacy of a sporting estate and its deer population the Nature Conservancy’s main focus, in the early days, was to erect deer fences to prevent deer grazing damage on newly planted trees. With the area available to deer reduced, as more fences were erected, it was recognised that displaced deer would need to be culled.

Depending on the priorities at the time a greater or smaller proportion of the population was culled each year; usually between one-tenth and one-sixth of the population. The old and sick animals are always targeted first in the same way that natural predators would.

We were keen to investigate what happens to the deer population if it is manipulated by different culling regimes. So in 1991, we divided the Reserve into five deer management blocks. The cull in Block 1 was targeted at reducing the stag population. In Block 3 the target was to reduce the hind population. Block 4 was left as a no cull area with Blocks 2 and 5 maintained by traditional cull practice. We used data collated from 1981 through to 1990 for comparison.

The current deer population on the Reserve is around 1000-1200 animals. The deer population is counted every spring. Using this information we consult with key stakeholders to plan the forthcoming annual cull. In 2008 the total cull was 69 stags, 76 hinds and 27 calves. Forty-eight stags, 37 Stalking on Rum hinds and 13 calves were taken by a stalking business and we completed the rest of the cull.

26 Map showing the deer management blocks on Rum NNR

When the cull is set targets for each management block are also set to help ensure that a healthy herd is maintained. Recent monitoring suggests that the number of deer may be too high in some areas of the island, and that this is having an impact on the features of European interest. We are currently making plans to address this through a grazing management plan for the island. At present the Kilmory deer study area (Block 4) remains the only part of the island where we do not carry out deer management.

27 There are also about 250-300 wild goats on the Reserve. Until recently only sick and injured animals were culled, but in 2001, recognising the damage that the goats were causing to important habitats that even the deer can’t reach, we reduced the herd by 25 animals. Future culls of the population are also likely to be required and will form part of a wider grazing management plan for the Reserve.

Domestic grazers

The Rum ponies play an essential role on the Reserve; providing transportation for carcasses during the deer cull. We currently have just over 20 ponies on the island which range freely most of the year either at Harris or Kilmory. During the cull some ponies are kept in Kinloch together with pregnant mares and mares with dependant foals.

The Rum ponies are special in their own right. The Rum Highland pony is now a rare breed and consequently, over the years, we have endeavoured to ensure that our ponies are carefully bred and managed on the island to ensure their long term survival.

We maintain a herd of 28 highland cattle on the island which we mainly use to help manage some of the important habitats that Rum Highland pony require a delicate balance of grazing. In the summer months (July-September) the cattle are kept at Guirdil and Shellesder where their grazing helps to remove aggressive plant species and maintain small areas of species-rich grassland. Over the winter months we herd them back to Glen Harris where they are free to wonder and graze the immediate hillsides. Here their trampling of wetland areas maintains suitable conditions for pillwort to thrive.

During 2006 and 2007 we also used the cattle to graze the woodland in Kinloch Glen to see if their trampling and grazing will create better ground conditions for natural tree regeneration to get away. It is too early to tell whether this is having the desired effect.

Re-introduction of the white-tailed sea eagle

Sea eagles were extinct completely in the UK by 1918; the last recorded nesting pair being on Skye in 1916. Bringing the fourth-largest eagle in the world back to Britain was a goal of nature conservation dating from just after the Second World War.

28 After one or two false starts, our predecessors the Nature Conservancy Council, launched a programme for the re-introduction of the white-tailed sea eagle during the 1970s using Rum as the base for releases.

In collaboration with the Norwegian conservation agency and the Royal Air Force eaglets were flown to Rum for rearing and release. Over a ten-year period 82 birds were released gradually spreading out from the Reserve, and settling within about 100 km. The first eggs were laid in 1982, and the first wild sea eagle chick for 70 years was raised on Mull White-tailed sea eagle in 1985. There are now 45 breeding pairs in Scotland, and by the summer of 2008 a total of 275 eaglets have fledged and flown the nest. Two pairs still breed on the Reserve with the third successful eaglet fledging in 2007.

Re-introduction of pillwort

Together with Plantlife we undertook another successful re-introduction programme on Rum in 1998. The internationally threatened tiny fern, pillwort, used to be found on Rum, and probably disappeared when cattle stopped roaming freely; it tends to grow in trampled and heavily poached mud at the edge of still water. Since cattle were brought back to the Reserve in 1971 they have recreated ideal conditions for the plant. A small cluster of plants (about the size of margarine tub) were transplanted on the Reserve and now the population is flourishing covering a few square metres and spreading every year.

Other recent projects

Most of our more recent work on the Reserve’s wildlife has concentrated on monitoring so that we can get a better handle on how our plants and animals are faring. The Reserve staff regularly record the breeding success of seals around the island, and keep track of red deer numbers as well as monitoring the eagles, seabirds and divers. In addition those habitats and species that are of international and national importance are monitored six-yearly as part of our continuing national site condition monitoring programme.

29 Research and demonstration

Research has been a significant aspect of the work at Rum. Much of the research has contributed to national and international networks with other studies helping develop geological or ecological theories and understanding, or contributing directly to wildlife management.

Climate and pollution

Weather readings have been made on Rum ever since it became a Reserve. It became an official Meteorological Office station in 1964 and has provided daily readings on a monthly basis. The Reserve is also part of the UK Ammonia Network, being part of the baseline network of 57 sites operating active sampling equipment. This is important research because increasing ammonia in the air can cause acidification of soils and water, loss of species from low-nutrient habitats such as bogs, and increases in emissions of certain greenhouse gases. Rum is in an area with very low levels of atmospheric ammonia where increases would be a very serious concern.

Earth science

The geology of Rum is amongst the most studied anywhere in Britain not only because of the variety of volcanic material, but also because of the much older rocks. There is still much to discover - researchers from the University of London and University of Durham are just two of the academic institutions that have based recent studies on the Reserve. Students from Uppsala University in Sweden also visit regularly and have contributed significantly to geological research on Rum.

Manx shearwater

The importance and novelty of the Manx shearwater colony at Rum has prompted a number of academic studies over the years as well as, more or less, continuous surveillance by Reserve staff and others. Much effort is being put into finding better ways of counting the birds including using recordings to stimulate birds in burrows to call, and so reveal themselves.

Recent years have seen reports of declining numbers of fledging birds and, since 2004, damage to eggs by rats has been reported each year. In response to this, we started a study in 2006 to monitor annual breeding success and productivity, and to investigate factors that may affect the breeding success of the colony such as food availability, nest site quality and predation. Rats are actively controlled on low ground and expansion of this work into the Manx shearwater area is planned.

30 Red deer

Red deer have been studied on Rum intensively and, over the decades, the research has become world-renowned. In the early years, up until 1972, studies were led by scientists from the Nature Conservancy. They looked at how the deer population changed; for instance the balance between sexes and age Collared study deer on Rum groups, and its effect on the plant communities of the Reserve. From 1972 the University of Cambridge started their study on deer behaviour and physiology associated with breeding. They also marked and identified individual deer in the Kilmory study area (Block 4) so that they could learn how breeding success varied on Rum.

More recently the University of Edinburgh and other universities and research institutes have joined the deer research project on the Reserve. The work has continued to investigate details of red deer behaviour and ecology with some fascinating findings including:

• As hind numbers in a particular area rose, the number of resident males fell. This is because as the density increases there is a reduction in the proportion of male calves being born; more male calves die in their first winter; and there is an increase in male emigration and a reduction in male immigration. • These density related sex differences have implications for broader deer management, demonstrating that management to promote high hind numbers is likely to lead to reductions in the number and quality of resident stags. • Environmental conditions, such as climatic conditions, experienced by individuals in early life have been found to have long-term consequences for reproductive success.

Genetic samples have also been collected from most of the deer born in the study area over the last 25 years. Current projects include looking at the effects of climate change on when the deer breed. More than 100 research papers and three books have been published, and the research on Rum has been widely used in managing red deer throughout Europe. The project has its own base on the Reserve at Kilmory.

31 Goats

Liverpool University has been studying Rum goats on-and-off since 1980. The project was based on the west coast of Rum, about 13 km from Kinloch, and used the Harris Lodge as its base. The work has focused on how the population is regulated, and how the animals cope with the winter weather. Other studies have looked at how social groups split up and join together, and the different ways that the males find mates.

Plants and vegetation

The nine principal types of vegetation on the Reserve were mapped in the 1960s, and this survey has been an important backdrop to many of the other research projects, including those on red deer and Manx shearwater. Initial lists of flowering plants, bryophytes, lichens, stoneworts, ferns and fungi were also researched and prepared during the Sixties. The original vegetation map was brought up to date in 1998 when a complete re-survey of the island mapped the plant communities. A few individual plant species have been studied in much more detail; for instance one study looked at the factors that determine where the alpine penny-cress lives.

The most important recent work on the plants on Rum was carried out from 2000 to 2006. Special recording parties took part in recording as much information as possible about the plants on Rum publishing, in 2008, the most comprehensive account of Rum’s plants (Pearman et al, 2008).

Earthworms

Earthworms have been studied on the Reserve since 1995 by the University of Central Lancashire. We now know where earthworms live on the island, and have started to understand how people have influenced this by where they set up home, where they grew their crops and, most recently, where trees were planted. Now the Earthworm Research Group is looking at the possibility of introducing earthworms into moorland soils alongside new tree planting to accelerate soil improvement.

Management for People

Visitors are welcome at Rum NNR, and every effort is made to provide them with information and support to make their time on the island as enjoyable as possible. The numbers of people visiting have increased considerably over the years, from about 2500 in 1974-5 to around 8-10,000 today. The increase seems to be mainly in day visitors who since the completion of the pier in 2003, can now access the island relatively easily. Most visitors come from the UK, with only about 9% of our visitors coming from overseas. They come primarily to watch wildlife and walk.

32 There is accommodation available for visitors wishing to spend longer than the day trips between ferries. There is hostel accommodation in the Castle, and an Isle of Rum Community Trust owned camp site in Kinloch. There are also two mountain bothies, one at Dibidil and the other at Guirdil. Visitors arriving in their own boats can moor at the older jetty and slip. Fishing is also available in some of the lochs and rivers in season and by licence, obtained from the Reserve Office.

Visitors are free to wander the island or to use the 2 self-guided trails which highlight some of the more easily accessible aspects of the Reserve. We extended the Loch Scresort trail in 2008 and built an otter hide at the end of trail so that visitors will get a chance to see these elusive animals. The Castle can also be visited, and we currently run timetabled, guided tours. Further information is provided in a simple display centre, where there is a range of leaflets including the Reserve leaflet, Kinloch Glen and Loch Scresort trails leaflets and a leaflet about the Manx shearwater.

Reserve information point at Kinloch

33 Map showing visitor facilities for Rum NNR

Not everyone takes Rum at an easy pace. The island remains popular with hill walkers and climbers and in 2007, Rum hosted the prologue to the Adventure Race

34 World Championship. This saw 196 competitors from 22 countries starting a gruelling 500 km course by leaping into the sea off Rum.

Universities, special interest groups, secondary schools and the island’s primary school, also make full use of the Reserve. In many respects the Reserve is an outdoor laboratory ideal for immersing groups of students in a field subject, whether it is for examining volcanic rock or completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award. Facilities for learning on Rum include a laboratory with desks and workbenches. Many visiting groups including Birkbeck College (University of London), Anglia Ruskin University, Heriot-Watt University, Trinity College, Dublin and Breadalbane Academy all regularly take advantage of these, as well as the talks and guided walks that Reserve staff provide.

The Reserve is also used for practical training by organisations such as the Scottish School of Forestry, and during 2006-07 we were able to host a forestry student placement from Thurso College. We have also hosted a wildlife and countryside management student placement every year since 2004.

Unusually for a National Nature Reserve the local community is mainly SNH staff and their families, so they are truly immersed and involved in the day-to-day management of the Reserve. Likewise for those members of the local community that are not SNH staff much of their everyday lives are in some way linked to the Reserve. The permanent population on Rum fluctuates between 25 and 35 people in all. Rum is also part of the Small Isles community, and the Reserve provides opportunities for local employment in this remote location.

Over the years much has been written about Rum. We celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Reserve with the publication of Rum: Nature’s Island by Magnus Magnusson. There are also books on the geology, natural history and guides for walkers and climbers.

Likewise Rum is no stranger to the broadcast media either. In October 2006 11 million viewers watched the BBC’s Autumnwatch. The programme made live broadcasts of the red deer rut and returned to film again in 2007. Back in 2003 Rum featured in the BBC Restoration series when Kinloch Castle represented Scotland in the final. The Scottish semi-final was watched by 3.4 million people. The Radio 4 Nature programme on the red deer rut on Rum was also a huge success. It was featured as Radio 4’s Pick of the Week and their Pick of the Year in 2004.

We promote the Reserve through the Scotland’s NNR website which has basic and essential information for visitors, and a copy of the Reserve leaflet. Visitor information about the Reserve appears on numerous other websites including the National Tourist Board’s site, and the Internet Guide to Scotland. We also regularly issue press releases to local and national newspapers.

35 Property Management

SNH owns the majority of Rum and most of the buildings except for an area of land in the village and a small number of buildings owned by the Isle of Rum Community Trust; the school and school-house which are owned by The Highland Council; the mausoleum which has remained in the ownership of the Bullough Trustees; the telephone exchange which is owned by British Telecom, and Kilmory accommodation hut which is owned by the Red Deer Project.

We have recently been working closely with the Isle of Rum Community Trust to support the development of a larger resident community on Rum which can become increasingly independent of SNH. As part of this work, in 2009, we transferred ownership of a parcel of land to the Community Trust. This land included the Community Hall as well as croft land, and land that can be developed for housing and community facilities. The Community Trust have recently taken over the management of the village campsite, which they are improving with the provision of a shower block. They have also appointed a Countryside Ranger and over time, they will be increasingly taking the lead for providing facilities for visitors in Kinloch Village.

A full list of the buildings that we are responsible for the maintenance of is given in Appendix 7. We have an agreement with the Mountain Bothy Association who maintain and run the bothy accommodation at Dibidil and Guirdil.

The most significant recent development is the construction of a new ferry terminal allowing the roll-on-roll-off ferry to dock at the island. Previously visitors and materials had to be ferried ashore in the “flit boat”. Since the new ferry terminal was established SNH, at Rum, has become a Harbour Authority taking on all the duties that go with that including responsibility for safety at the terminal.

The presence of listed buildings and Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAM) on the Reserve gives us an additional set of responsibilities. We are responsible for ensuring that all listed buildings are in a reasonable state of repair and need to ensure that our Reserve management does not damage any of the SAMs on the Reserve.

We maintain the 4wd track from Kinloch to Kilmory and the track branching off to Harris, which are essential for Reserve management. A further road runs from the ferry terminal into the village, and connects with the tracks to Kilmory and Harris. In addition five pony tracks extend access to Guidil, Bloodstone Hill, Coire Dubh, Loch Papadil (via Dibidil) and along Glen Shellesder. Nature trails run along the south side of Loch Scresort and through Kinloch Glen. We maintain all of these when necessary.

36 Summary

Since Rum became a National Nature Reserve management has concentrated on woodland restoration and conserving the existing natural heritage. At the same time the island has developed as a centre for research into its earth science, deer population and wildlife as well as investigations to support the woodland restoration. Numbers of visitors to the Reserve have increased over the years, and servicing casual visitors and organised groups is an important part of the work of the Reserve staff. The Reserve is actively promoted by SNH, but also gains a lot of publicity through other means. The resident community, the wide range of buildings and the broad mix of ancient monuments and listed buildings all make Rum a most unusual NNR to manage.

37 5 Document properties

References

Brown, H.M. (2000). The Island of Rhum: A Guide for Walkers, Climbers and Visitors. Cicerone, Milnthorpe, Cumbria.

Clutton-Brock, T.H. (1989). Rhum: The Natural History of an Island. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

Clutton-Brock, T.H., Coulson, T. & Thomson, D. (2002) Red deer on Rum: a 20-year study of the ecological consequences of changes to male and female numbers. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report F99AC417.

Emeleus, C.H. (1997). Geology of Rum and the Adjacent Islands. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 60 (Scotland).

Goodenough, K. & Bradwell, T. (2004). Rum and the Small Isles: A Landscape Fashioned by Geology. Scottish Natural Heritage, Perth.

Love, J.A. (2001). Rum: A Landscape without Figures. Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh.

Magnusson, M. (1997). Rum: Nature’s Island. Luath Press, Edinburgh.

Morgan, P. (1999). Rum: Island Place-Names/Rùm: Ainmean Àite an Eilein. Scottish Natural Heritage, Rum.

Murray, C.W. & Birks, H.J.B. (2005). The Botanist in Skye and Adjacent Islands: an annotated check-list of the vascular plants of the islands of Skye, Raasay, Rona, Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna, Scarpay and Soay. Privately published.

Pearman, D. A., Preston, C. D., Rothero, G.P. & Walker, K.J. (2008). The Flora of Rum – An Atlantic Island Reserve. Privately published.

Rothero, G. P. (2004). Site dossier for bryological interest: Rum SSSI. Unpublished report to Scottish Natural Heritage.

Sabbagh K. (1999). Rum Affair: A True Story of Botanical Fraud. Diane Publishing Co., Pensylvania.

Welsh M. & Isherwood C. (1996). Walks on Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck. Clan Books, Doune.

38 Wickham-Jones C.R. (1990). Rhum: Mesolithic and Later Sites at Kinloch, Excavations, 1984-86. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Photography

Photography by Laurie Campbell, Lorne Gill/SNH, John MacPherson/SNH, P&A Macdonald/SNH and Peter Llewellyn (ukwildflowers.com)

Acknowledgements

The Story of Rum National Nature Reserve has been written by Dr Terry Rowell (Freelance contractor), edited by Emma Philip (Managed Sites Officer - NNRs) and approved by Susan Davies (Director, Operations North).

We would like to thank the following SNH staff for their contribution and comments on earlier drafts: Richard Kilpatrick (Reserve Manager - Rum), Marcel Blankers (Deer Management Officer), Lesley Watt (Reserve Officer – Rum), Sean Morris – Reserve Support – Rum), David Maclennan (Area Manager – Western Isles), Eileen Stuart (Rum Project Manager), John Burlison (Managed Sites Unit Manager), Jill Matthews (Managed Sites Manager – NNRs), Andy Douse (Senior Ornithologist), Rachel Haines (Policy & Advice Manager – Natura), Duncan Stone (Policy & Advice Manager – Land Use), Rachel Wignall & Vanessa Kirkbride (Policy & Advice Officers – Earth Science), Graham Sullivan (Policy & Advice Officer – Uplands), Jenny Bryce (Policy & Advice Officer – Deer), Dave Genney (Policy & Advice Officer – Bryophytes, Fungi & Lichens), Athayde Tonhasca (Policy & Advice Officer – Invertebrates), Susi Hodgson (Geographic Information Officer) and Sarah Eaton (Managed Sites Support).

We would also like to add our special thanks to David Pearman for sharing his expert knowledge on the flora of Rum and Ed Hawan (previous Reserve Manager).

Links

Scottish Natural Heritage www.snh.org.uk SNH Sitelink www.snh.org.uk/snhi/ Joint Nature Conservation www.jncc.gov.uk Committee Rum and the Small Islands: http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on- Landscape Fashioned by Geology line/geology/rumSmallIslands/default.as – website version of printed SNH p publication

Archaeological description of the http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/highlighteigg. Small Isles, including Rum html

39 The National Biodiversity Network http://www.searchnbn.net/siteInfo/siteS report on Rum NNR peciesGroups.jsp?useIntersects=1&engO rd=false&allDs=1&maxRes=1&siteKey=3 2543

Red deer research project http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/zoostaff/lar g/pages/Rum.html

Earthworm research http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/science/er g/research_population.htm

UK Ammonia Network, with access http://www.cara.ceh.ac.uk/nh3network to information and data from the /index.html Rum station The Rum meteorological station, and http://www.cara.ceh.ac.uk/nh3network access to the data /index.html

Community website http://www.isleofrum.com/

Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B9 m

A great collection of photographs of http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.ph Rum p?i=882881&page=1

40 Appendix 1 – National Nature Reserves (NNR)

Scotland’s National Nature Reserves are special places for nature, where many of the best examples of Scotland’s natural heritage are protected. Whilst nature always comes first on our NNRs, they also offer special opportunities for people to enjoy and find out about the richness of our natural heritage. NNRs are declared under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 or the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

A policy for NNRs in Scotland was developed in 1996. This policy requires NNRs in Scotland to have four attributes and be managed for one or more of the three purposes.

The attributes are:

• Primacy of nature – The needs of nature will be placed at the heart of decisions about land-use and management of our NNRs, and nature conservation will be the overriding land use, although it may not be the sole purpose of management.

• National importance – The NNR must be managed for the features of interest, which are of national importance on the NNR i.e. for the protection of geological features, habitats or species found there.

• Best practice management – NNRs must be well managed, not only to safeguard the nature conservation interests, but also to provide for people’s enjoyment and understanding.

• Continuity of management – Both research and management on NNRs require us to take a long-term view, so it is important that management continuity is assured.

The purposes are:

• National awareness of NNRs – The NNR is managed so that people can take pride in the natural heritage ‘on display’ and come to understand it better and enjoy it to the full.

• Specialised management of NNRs - The character of one or all of the features of interest on the Reserve requires specialised and pro-active management, which is best, delivered by a Nature Reserve.

41 • Research-related NNRs - These NNRs will offer opportunities for research into the natural heritage and its management. The research specifically requires a Nature Reserve location.

From 2000 - 2003 all of Scotland’s NNRs were reviewed against this policy. Because of the review there are now (2009) 58 NNRs in Scotland. There are currently a number of NNRs identified during the review which have still to be taken through the de-declaration process. As a result of this a search on many SNH systems will show more than 58 NNRs until this work is complete.

More information can be found at: Scotland’s National Nature Reserves: A policy statement: http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/polstat/nnrpolcy.pdf

National Nature Reserves – General Information: http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk

42 Appendix 2 – Special Area of Conservation (SAC)

Special Areas of Conservation are areas designated under the European Community Council Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/EEC), commonly known as the Habitats Directive. Together with Special Protection Areas (SPA), which are designated under the Wild Birds Directive for wild birds and their habitats, SACs form the Natura 2000 network of sites. The Natura 2000 network is designed to conserve natural habitats and species of animals and plants, which are rare, endangered or vulnerable in the European Community. Annexes I and II to the Habitats Directive list the habitats and (non-bird) species respectively for which SACs are selected. In Great Britain, the Directive was transposed into domestic legislation via the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994. The Regulations cover both SPAs and SACs. Natura sites are generally underpinned by a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the terrestrial environment, although there are a few exceptions where other management measures are employed. The Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department Circular No. 6/1995 (Revised June 2000) on the Habitats and Birds Directives gives further details of how the Regulations apply in Scotland.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) acts as the advisor to Government in proposing selected sites for ministerial approval as possible SACs. SNH then consults with key parties over the site proposals on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The consultees, who include owners and occupiers of land, local authorities and other interested parties, are sent details of the proposed site boundaries and the habitats and/or species for which they qualify. SNH also negotiates the longer-term management of these sites. Following consultation, SNH forwards all responses to Scottish Ministers who then make a decision about whether to submit the site to the European Commission as a candidate SAC. Once submission of all candidate sites is completed, the Commission, together with Member States, will consider the site series across Europe as a whole. At this stage, sites that are adopted by the Commission become Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), after which they can be finally designated as Special Areas of Conservation by national governments.

The following websites provide further information:

Special Areas of Conservation: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/ProtectedSites/SACselection

43 Rum SAC

Country Scotland Unitary Authority Highland Grid Ref* NM369982 Latitude 57 00 00 N Longitude 06 20 00 W SAC EU code UK 0012594 Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Area (ha) 10835.33

*This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.

Site details

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site:

Oligotrophic to mesotrophic standing waters with vegetation of the Littorelletea uniflorae and/or of the Isoëto-Nanojuncetea

44 The mountainous terrain of the island of Rum off the west coast of Scotland supports waterbodies typical of oligotrophic to mesotrophic standing waters. The lochs in this site are classified as Type 2 or 3 and can be extremely oligotrophic with a low species diversity. However, some coastal lochs exhibit a strong maritime influence and, as a consequence, support a greater diversity and abundance of macrophytes. The three major rock types on the island, Torridonian sandstone and ultrabasic and granitic igneous rocks, influence the trophic status of the lochs. The site contains several species of note including awlwort Subularia aquatica, floating bur-reed Sparganium angustifolium and common reed Phragmites australis. The remote location of the island and its National Nature Reserve status means that the lochs have not been subject to significant unnatural change.

Natural dystrophic lakes and ponds

Rum, on the west coast of Scotland, contains dystrophic lochans formed mainly at mid- altitude in areas of upland Blanket bogs and Northern Atlantic wet heaths with Erica tetralix over Torridonian sandstone. The impoverished aquatic flora is typical of this habitat type and includes bulbous rush Juncus bulbosus and bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata. The dystrophic lochans vary in size but are typically relatively small unnamed waters that are highly acidic and have a range of substrates, from boulders to organic mud or peat. Their small size and remote location has helped to protect the lochans from any significant unnatural change.

Northern Atlantic wet heaths with Erica tetralix

Rum, in the Inner Hebrides, has an extensive development of the black bog-rush Schoenus nigricans-rich form of northern Atlantic wet heaths that is restricted to western Scotland. It is extensive on slopes which are underlain by ultra-basic rocks, and shows the development of Schoenus in response to mild base-rich flushing. The Schoenus-rich form has affinities to the strongly-flushed Carex panicea sub-community of M15 Scirpus cespitosus – Erica tetralix wet heath, and shows some similarities to the Schoenus-rich heaths of the Lizard district, which are also on ultra-basic rocks. Other more typical western forms of wet heath with abundant deergrass Trichophorum cespitosum and purple moor-grass Molinia caerulea are also represented.

European dry heaths

Rum has examples of European dry heaths typical of the Inner Hebrides but is particularly noted for the presence of species-rich heath on base-rich soils. A large extent of the local, species-rich form of H10 Calluna vulgaris – Erica cinerea heath, Thymus praecox – Carex pulicaris sub-community (H10d), occurs on steep, southerly- facing slopes on ultra-basic rocks. The associated flora includes a number of northern and arctic-alpine species, such as mountain everlasting Antennaria dioica, viviparous sheep’s-fescue Festuca vivipara, alpine meadow-rue Thalictrum alpinum, alpine bistort

45 Persicaria vivipara and alpine saw-wort Saussurea alpina. The associated invertebrate fauna contains large populations of rare and local burnet moths. This northern form of species-rich heath complements that on Great Orme’s Head in Wales, which has a species-rich heath of a much more southern floristic character, overlying limestone. Other kinds of dry heath on Rum are typical of north-west Scotland. They include species-poor H10 Calluna – Erica heath and H21 Calluna – Vaccinium – Sphagnum heath, including some of the Atlantic bryophyte-rich forms of the latter.

Calaminarian grasslands of the Violetalia calaminariae

Rum is one of the best sites in the UK for open rocky Calaminarian vegetation characterised by the presence of arctic sandwort Arenaria norvegica ssp. norvegica and northern rock-cress Arabis petraea, similar to that on Keen of Hamar. The habitat, which represents Calaminarian grasslands of the Violetalia calaminariae, is developed on rocky areas of debris and erosion terraces on the peridotite of Ruinsival eastwards towards Sgurr nan Gillean. A. norvegica is the rare ultramafic species represented, while other uncommon basiphiles include purple saxifrage Saxifraga oppositifolia, mossy cyphel Minuartia sedoides and moss campion Silene acaulis. This is one of the most maritime-influenced sites of the series and the maritime species sea campion Silene uniflora, sea plantain Plantago maritima and thrift Armeria maritima are especially frequent.

Species-rich Nardus grassland, on siliceous substrates in mountain areas (and submountain areas in continental Europe) * Priority feature

Rum is one of five sites on the oceanic west coast of Scotland representing low- to moderately high-altitude oceanic sub-types of species-rich Nardus grasslands. This site is characteristic of the communities found to the north and west of the range. Extensive herb-rich grasslands have developed below cliffs of ultra-basic rocks along the coast. The grasslands occur from near sea level to about 750 m. Both CG10 Festuca ovina – Agrostis capillaris – Thymus praecox grassland and CG11 Festuca ovina – Agrostis capillaris – Alchemilla alpina grassland are well-represented. The stands are more scattered and more varied ecologically than on the basalt sites elsewhere in Scotland, but overall the flora is similar. Many uncommon but characteristic species are present, including mountain everlasting Antennaria dioica, bitter-vetch Lathyrus linifolius, milkwort Polygala vulgaris, field gentian Gentianella campestris, small-white orchid Pseudorchis albida, pale sedge Carex pallescens and lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica. Arctic-alpine and northern species include alpine bistort Persicaria vivipara, alpine meadow-rue Thalictrum alpinum, alpine lady’s mantle Alchemilla alpina and viviparous sheep’s-fescue Festuca vivipara. There is a range of transitions to maritime grassland, calcareous grasslands, herb-rich European dry heaths and open communities on ultra- basic rocks.

46 Calcareous and calcshist screes of the montane to alpine levels (Thlaspietea rotundifolii)

Rum is representative of mildly calcareous and calcshist screes up to moderately high altitude in oceanic western Scotland. Rum has screes of various types, some of which are relatively small areas composed of ultra-basic rocks. Gravelly screes are widespread and unusual in supporting Scottish asphodel Tofieldia pusilla, which is usually associated with fens. Associated species include mountain everlasting Antennaria dioica, moss campion Silene acaulis, mossy cyphel Minuartia sedoides, thrift Armeria maritima, sea plantain Plantago maritima and purple saxifrage Saxifraga oppositifolia. Other species found in scree of larger rock fragments include northern rock-cress Arabis petraea, alpine penny-cress Thlaspi caerulescens, mountain sorrel Oxyria digyna and stone bramble Rubus saxatilis. Many ferns such as hay-scented buckler-fern Dryopteris aemula, northern buckler-fern D. expansa and male-fern D. filix- mas find a refuge from grazing animals in scree. Also there is a rich community of lower plants.

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site:

Vegetated sea cliffs of the Atlantic and Baltic coasts

Alpine and Boreal heaths

Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels

Blanket bogs * Priority feature

Depressions on peat substrates of the Rhynchosporion

Alkaline fens

Siliceous scree of the montane to snow levels (Androsacetalia alpinae and Galeopsietalia ladani)

Calcareous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation

Siliceous rocky slops with chasmophytic vegetation

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site:

Otter Lutra lutra

47 This island contains numerous freshwater lochs and lochans at a range of altitudes from near sea level to over 400 m, a wide range of small rivers and streams, and an extensive area of coastline. The site provides the full range of marine and freshwater requirements necessary for otter Lutra lutra including breeding, feeding and resting sites. Rum’s otter population is representative of otter populations throughout the Small Isles and Inner Hebrides.

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection:

Not applicable.

48 Conservation Objectives for Rum Special Area of Conservation

Habitats:

To avoid deterioration of the qualifying habitats (listed below) thus ensuring that the integrity of the site is maintained and the site makes an appropriate contribution to achieving favourable conservation status for each of the qualifying features; and To ensure for the qualifying habitats that the following are maintained in the long term:

• Extent of the habitat on site • Distribution of the habitat within site • Structure and function of the habitat • Processes supporting the habitat • Distribution of typical species of the habitat • Viability of typical species as components of the habitat • No significant disturbance of typical species of the habitat

Qualifying Habitats:

• Acid peat-stained lakes and ponds • Acidic scree • Alpine and subalpine heaths • Base-rich fens • Base-rich scree • Blanket bog* • Clear-water lakes or lochs with aquatic vegetation and poor to moderate nutrient levels • Depressions on peat substrates • Dry heaths • Grasslands on soils rich in heavy metals • Plants in crevices on acid rocks • Plants in crevices on base-rich rocks • Species-rich grassland with mat-grass in upland areas* • Tall herb communities • Vegetated sea cliffs • Wet heathland with cross-leaved heath

* Indicates priority habitat

49 Species:

To avoid deterioration of the habitats of the qualifying species (listed below) or significant disturbance to the qualifying species, thus ensuring that the integrity of the site is maintained and the site makes an appropriate contribution to achieving favourable conservation status for each of the qualifying features; and

To ensure for the qualifying species that the following are maintained in the long term:

• Population of the species as a viable component of the site • Distribution of the species within site • Distribution and extent of habitats supporting the species • Structure, function and supporting processes of habitats supporting the species • No significant disturbance of the species.

Qualifying Species:

Otter

50 Appendix 3 - Special Protection Area (SPA)

Special Protection Areas are areas classified under Article 4 of the European Community Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds 1979 (EC79/409), commonly known as the Birds Directive. SPAs are intended to safeguard the habitats of birds which are rare or vulnerable in Europe as well as all migratory birds which are regular visitors. Together with Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), which are designated under the Habitats Directive for habitats and non-bird species, SPAs form the Natura 2000 network of sites. The Natura 2000 network is designed to conserve natural habitats and species of animals and plants which are rare, endangered or vulnerable in the European Community. Natura sites in Great Britain are protected via the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994, which transpose the Habitats directive into GB law and are relevant to both SACs and SPAs. Natura sites are also generally underpinned by the SSSI mechanism in the terrestrial environment. The Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department Circular No. 6/1995 (Revised June 2000) on the Habitats and Birds Directives gives further details of how the Regulations apply in Scotland.

SNH acts as the advisor to Government in proposing selected sites for ministerial approval as proposed SPAs. SNH then consults with key parties over the site proposals on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The consultees, who include owners and occupiers of land, local authorities and other interested parties, are sent details of the proposed site boundaries and the species for which the site qualifies. SNH also negotiates the longer-term management of these sites. Following consultation, SNH forwards all responses to Scottish Ministers who then make a decision about whether to classify the site as a Special Protection Area. The following websites provide further information:

Special Protection Areas: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/UKSPA/default.htm

51 Rum SPA

Country Scotland Unitary Authority Aberdeenshire Grid Ref* NO 445005 Latitude 57 05 00 N Longitude 02 55 00 W SPA EU code UK 90002791 Status Classified SPA Area (ha) 157.1

Site details

Rum qualifies as an SPA under Article 4.1 regularly supporting 1.2% of the GB breeding population of Gavia stellata (5 year mean, 1992-1996).

Rum further qualifies under Article 4.2 for regularly supporting approximately 20.7% of the breeding population of Puffinis puffinis (Count as at 1995) and for supporting an internationally important assemblage of birds. During the breeding season the area regularly supports 130000 seabirds (5 year peak mean 30/06/1999) including, Puffinus puffinus.

52 Conservation Objectives for Rum Special Protection Area

To avoid deterioration of the habitats of the qualifying species (listed below) or significant disturbance to the qualifying species, thus ensuring that the integrity of the site is maintained; and

To ensure for the qualifying species that the following are maintained in the long term:

• Population of the species as a viable component of the site • Distribution of the species within site • Distribution and extent of habitats supporting the species • Structure, function and supporting processes of habitats supporting the species • No significant disturbance of the species

Qualifying species:

• Guillemot (Uria aalge)* • Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)* • Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) • Red-throated diver (Gavia stellata) • Seabird assemblage

* indicates assemblage qualifier only

53 Appendix 4 - Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Scottish Natural Heritage is the key statutory agency in Scotland for advising Government and for acting as the Government’s agent in the delivery of conservation designations in Scotland. Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is the main nature conservation designation in Great Britain (GB). These sites are special for their plants or animals or habitats, their rocks or landforms or a combination of these.

The SSSI series has been developed over the last 50 years, and since 1981 as the national suite of sites providing statutory protection for the best examples of GB’s flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features. Originally notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, many SSSIs were renotified and others newly notified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. SSSI continue under the Nature Conservation Act (Scotland) 2004, which further strengthens their protection and makes the system more user friendly.

These sites are also used to underpin other national and international nature conservation designations. Most SSSIs are privately owned or managed; others are owned or managed by public bodies or non-government organisations. There are more than 1400 SSSIs in Scotland.

Web Links:

‘The Nature of Scotland – A Policy Statement’ http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/environment/nas-00.asp

'People and Nature: A New Approach to SSSI Designations in Scotland' http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w1/pandn-00.htm

Guidelines for selection of biological SSSIs http://www.jncc.gov.uk/Publications/sssi/default.htm

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI): http://www.snh.org.uk/about/ab-pa01.asp

List of Scottish SSSI: http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/protect/SSSI_02.pdf

54 Rum SSSI

Country Scotland Unitary Authority Highland Grid Ref* NM 370980 Notified 27 March 1987 Area (ha.) 10,794

*This is the approximate central point of the SSSI. In the case of large, linear, or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SSSI.

Site description

The Isle of Rhum has many biological and geological features of national importance. The coastline is mainly rocky whilst the interior comprises mountains and moorland with burns and lochs. The distribution of soils and vegetation is determined by three major rock types: acid Torridonian Sandstone, calcareous basalt and Triassic limestone, and the complex of magnesium-rich ultra basic igneous rocks. The vegetation also reflects the long occupation of the island by man; grazing and burning has resulted in an almost treeless landscape except for plantations and fragments of

55 natural woodland in rocky places. Rhum is also important for nature conservation management and ecological and geological research.

Biology

Upland and Peatland

The Tertiary igneous mountains of Rhum which rise to 812m support a range of montane and sub-montane grassland, dwarf shrub heath and mire communities. The vegetation types on the ultra basic soils include the fertile Agrostis-Festuca grasslands associated with the Manx shearwater colonies, and open herb rich heath with, for example, Scottish asphodel Tofieldia pusilla. Sparse alpine moss heath with Stiff Sedge Carex bigelowii and Least Willow Salix herbacea occurs on the more acid rocks such as on Sgurr nan Gillean, and a range of Saxifrages and cliff alpines on the crags of basalt peaks like Fionchra. Much of the moorland area at lower altitude is covered by wet heath, Nardus heath and blanket mire communities. The dominant vegetation on shallow peat is Calluna, Trichophorum and Molinia heath while on deeper peat Eriophorum and Trichophorum are dominant. Shallow pools in the areas of blanket mire are rich in sphagnum mosses and one area has the rare brown beak sedge Rhynchospora fusca. Rhum also contains most of the characteristic western Highland sub-montane soligenous mire types. Where lateral water seepage is a feature Schoenus flushes occur.

Coast2

The variety of habitats along the 48km of coast on Rhum includes the sheltered inlet of Loch Scresort with stony beaches and intertidal mud flats of importance to birds, and a small sand dune system backed by species rich flat machair at Kilmory. Submaritime grasslands and heath are widely distributed on cliff tops and above beaches and interesting assemblages of Atlantic ferns and bryophytes occur in shaded and sheltered gullies in the cliffs.

Animals

Rhum supports a wide range of breeding birds associated with both upland and coastal habitats, including divers, various raptors and locally important sea bird colonies. The unique mountain top colony of Manx shearwaters exceeds 100,000 pairs (about 40% of the British population). The insect and other invertebrate fauna is rich for a remote island and includes many rare species and Hebridean forms.

2 The Coastal habitats are currently (March 2009) under review with both the sand dune and machair habitats likely to be removed from the SSSU citation.

56 Plants

Associated with the montane, sub-montane and coastal habitats is a wide variety of rare plants including Arctic Sandwort Arenaria norvegica, two flowered rush Juncus biglumis, forked spleenwort Asplenium septentrionale, pyramidal bugle Ajuga pyramidalis and mountain avens Dryas octopetala. A wide range of Atlantic bryophytes occur including several rare northern species.

Geology

Tertiary Igneous

Six outstanding areas of the Tertiary Igneous Province contain lavas, ultra basic rocks and best occurrence in Britain of the full suite of acid igneous rocks, together with associated faults, tuffs, tertiary sediments and other features. An area of altered calcareous rocks has yielded some poorly preserved Jurassic fossils.

Pleistocene and Quaternary

The mountains of Sron an t-Saighdeir, Orval and Ard Nev are notable for their close association of relict and active periglacial landforms.

Previous notifications

1958, 1971 and 1974.

Remarks

A nature conservation review site and geological conservation review site of national importance.

57 Appendix 5 - National Scenic Area (NSA)

National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s only national landscape designation. They are those areas of land considered of national significance on the basis of their outstanding scenic interest, which must be conserved as part of the country’s natural heritage. They have been selected for their characteristic features of scenery comprising a mixture of richly diverse landscapes including prominent landforms, coastline, sea and freshwater lochs, rivers, woodlands and moorlands.

There are currently 40 NSAs in Scotland, covering a total area of 1,001,800 ha.

The Small Isles NSA

Extent of Area

The group of islands known as the Small Isles comprises Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna which form a compact group of contrasting islands within the wider coastal setting of the Cuillin of Skye, Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan.

58 Description

Each island has a different landscape character and outline that contrast one island with the next, and the sea inevitably plays an important role in setting of and linking the varying shapes of the islands, which make a major contribution to a seaboard of the highest scenic quality.

The scenery of Rum contains within a small compass nearly all of the elements found in the other inner islands; brown, stepped country of Torridonian sandstone in the north, green grassy terraces separated by cliffs of basaltic lavas in the west, and steep slopes, sharp peaks, and knife-edged ridges in the south, where hard ultrabasic rocks have been carved like the Cuillin gabbro. Massive granite cliffs add yet another group of landforms around Bloodstone Hill, Glen Dibidil is a fine U-shaped valley, and at Kilmory is a stretch of machair and a small line of sand dunes. There is little cultivable land.

Basalt predominates on Eigg, giving good agricultural land, and a steep-sided ridge of Jurassic sandstone in the north forms impressive cliffs when viewed from the sea. At the southern end of the island the spectacular Sgurr of Eigg is a residual block of pitchstone lava which forms a long undulating ridge of bare grey rock and which, viewed on end, forms a flat-topped tower almost 400m above sea level. On the coast there is a series of large caves. There is a considerable amount of fertile ground, but natural woodland is confined to a few patches of hazel scrub, and mixed woodlands have been planted on the east side of the island.

Muck is a low island of Tertiary basalt giving a stepped profile, but having a rich soil and fine green pasture. The rock has been worn into cliffs and caves at sea level, more interesting than the low rocky headlands of the nearby mainland. Canna at the far end of the group is like Muck, but higher, with inland cliffs of reddish rock above grassy slopes, and a spectacular coastline of caves, arches and stacks carved from the basalt. The lower island of Sanday, linked by a ridge to Canna, contrasts with the higher ground, and has on it a church which forms a strong landscape feature on the seaward approach to Canna harbour.

59 Appendix 6 – Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Listed Buildings on Rum NNR

(a) Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs)

Site Date scheduled Settlement, 400m northeast of Kinloch Castle at Kinloch Farm 1996

Settlement at Port-na-Caranean, 1996

Cave at Bagh na h-Uamha, Mullach Ard 1996

Cross at Bagh na h-Uamha, 150m northeast of waterfall in An 1996 Uamh Cairn, 550m east-southeast of Harris Lodge 1996

Settlement, 900m southeast of Harris Lodge 1996

Cairn, 250m east-northeast of Guirdil 1996

Promontory fort, 970m northeast of Guirdil 1996

Shielings, 800m southwest of west end of Loch Sgaorishal 1996

Fort, 750m west-northwest of Kilmory Lodge 1996

Cairn, 250m north of Kilmory Lodge 1996

Salisbury's Dam and associated works 1996

Deer traps, 400m southwest and 1000m south-southwest of 1996 Spectacle Lochan Shielings, southeast of Loch Monica 1996

Settlement, 300m northwest of Harris Lodge 1996

Settlement at Harris 1996

Settlement, old burial ground and cross shaft at Kilmory 1997

Deer trap, 700m southwest of summit cairn at Orval 1999

Deer traps, east of Orval, 1999

60 (b) Listed Buildings

Building Category Date listed

Kinloch Castle A 1971

Gazebo, Kinloch Castle Garden B 1971

Bridge over the Slugan Burn, Kinloch Castle B 1982

Bayview B 1985

Bullough Mausoleum B 1971

Old pier C(S) 1985

Kiln by pier C(S) 1971

Category A: Buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type.

Category B: Buildings of regional or more than local importance, or major examples of some particular period, style or building type which may have been altered.

Category C(S): Buildings of local importance, lesser examples of any period, style or building type, as originally constructed or altered; and simple, traditional buildings which group well with others in categories A and B or are part of a planned group such as an estate or an industrial complex.

61 Appendix 7 – Reserve buildings on Rum

Location Buildings Kinloch Reserve office Information point Farm buildings Workshop Boathouse Larder Incinerator Composting shed Old petrol store Public toilet (campsite) Pier and slipway Dam and pipeline Generator House 12 residential properties Harris Shooting lodge

62