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Walking Rum and the Small Isles
Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna
Pre-order - Publishing 1 October 2025
This book is available to pre-order. Payment will be taken upfront and your book will be dispatched from our warehouse as soon as it becomes available around the 1 October 2025.
ISBN
9781786312174
Availability
Not Yet Published
Available
1 Oct 2025
Edition
Second
Pages
192
Size
17.20 x 11.60 x .83cm
Weight
260g
Delivery & Returns
Free Royal Mail 48 postage on UK orders. European postage is £3.50 per item. Worldwide postage is £5.50 per item. If you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, we'll give you a full refund.
More information...
This guidebook to walking and backpacking on Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna includes a circuit of the Rum Cuillin, an ascent of An Sgurr (Eigg) and a 3-day trek around the coast of Rum. The 25 routes across the four islands of the Small Isles archipelago of Scotland are suitable for a range of abilities exploring coasts, mountains and wilderness.
Seasons
Spring, early summer and early autumn are the best times to walk in the Small Isles – when the weather is mildest and the midges are in abeyance. High summer is the busiest season and midges can be a nightmare on Rùm particularly. Winter days are short and storms are frequent, but the grandeur of the islands in winter weather – when few visitors are around – is ample reward for the well-prepared walker.Centres
Kinloch, Dibidil, Kilmory, Harris, Guirdil (Rùm); Galmisdale, Cleadale (Eigg); Port Mòr (Muck); A'Chill (Canna)Difficulty
Routes range from the challenging – the Rùm Cuillin traverse, a physically demanding mountain walk where good navigation skills are essential – to the relatively undemanding shorter walks on low-lying Muck and Sanday. Whether walking in the mountains or along sandy beaches, the weather can change suddenly in the Hebrides – be prepared for wet, wild and windy conditions.Must See
The towering volcanic peaks of the Rùm Cuillin, Kinloch Castle, Harris Bay and Kilmory Bay on Rùm; the jutting pitchstone summit of An Sgùrr and the Beinn Bhuidhe plateau on Eigg; Canna's towering cliffs and Sanday's sea stacks; the verdant pastures and sandy shores of Muck. The Small Isles have an abundance of spectacular wildlife, geological features, ancient monuments and stunning coastal landscapes throughout the islands.Pre-order
Publishing 1 October 2025
This book is available to pre-order. Payment will be taken upfront and your book will be dispatched from our warehouse as soon as it becomes available around the 1 October 2025.ISBN
9781786312174
Availability
Not Yet Published
Available
1 Oct 2025
Edition
Second
Pages
192
Size
17.20 x 11.60 x .83cm
Weight
260g
Delivery & Returns
Free Royal Mail 48 postage on UK orders. European postage is £3.50 per item. Worldwide postage is £5.50 per item. If you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, we'll give you a full refund.
More information...
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Overview
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Guidebook to 25 coastal and mountain walks on the Small Isles of Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna, suitable for a range of abilities. Explore this wild and rugged archipelago off Scotland’s west coast, where volcanic peaks, dramatic cliffs and quiet shorelines offer some of the Hebrides’ most rewarding walking. Highlights include the towering Cuillin of Rum, the pitchstone ridge of An Sgùrr on Eigg, Canna’s spectacular sea cliffs and Muck’s fascinating coastline.
The routes range from short rambles to longer treks, including a challenging three-day, 41km (25 mile) circuit around the coast of Rum. Walks vary from 3–41km (2–25 miles) and can be completed in 1 to 3 days, depending on the route. Many walks are circular, while others link key island features or viewpoints. The varied terrain includes rough mountain paths, moorland, open pasture and coastal tracks.
- 1:50,000 OS mapping included for each walk
- Step-by-step descriptions with distance, ascent, time, difficulty and terrain
- Includes transport, accommodation and trip-planning advice
- Background information on geology, wildlife and local history
- GPX files available to download
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Table of Contents
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Route summary table
Introduction
When to go
Getting there
Maps and route-finding
Access
Safety and emergencies
What to take
Using this guidebook
Rùm
Walk 1: A round of the Rùm Cuillin
Walk 2: The Dibidil Horseshoe
Walk 3: Askival and Hallival from Kinloch
Walk 4: Hallival and Barkeval from Kinloch
Walk 5: Around the coast of Rùm
Day 1: Kinloch to Dibidil
Day 2: Dibidil to Guirdil
Day 3: Guirdil to Kinloch
Walk 6: Kinloch to Guirdil
Walk 7: The Guirdil Horseshoe
Walk 8: Orval and Àrd Nev
Walk 9: Kinloch to Harris Bay
Walk 10: Kinloch to Kilmory Bay
Walk 11: Port na Caranean
Eigg
Walk 12: Uamh Fhraing and Uamh Chràbhaichd
Walk 13: Grulin from Galmisdale
Walk 14: An Sgùrr and Grulin
Walk 15: Beannan Breaca and the south-west
Walk 16: The Beinn Bhuidhe plateau from Galmisdale
Walk 17: Sgorr an Fhàraidh
Walk 18: Camas Sgiotaig and the north-west coast
Walk 19: Around the north-east coast of Eigg
Canna and Sanday
Walk 20: A’ Chill, Compass Hill and Black Sand Beach
Walk 21: Around Canna
Walk 22: Around Sanday
Muck
Walk 23: Around Muck
Walk 24: Beinn Airein and Camas Mòr
Walk 25: Caisteal an Dùin Bhàin and the far south coast
Appendix A: Useful websites
Appendix B: Further reading
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Maps
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It is essential that you have the appropriate maps for the walks described in this guidebook. There are few waymarks, signposts or paths of any kind, making accurate route finding all the more important. A degree of navigational proficiency is indispensable.
This guide incorporates Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 mapping with highlighted routes. These should be used in conjunction with OS Explorer 1:25,000 maps because of their greater topographic detail. Do not rely solely on the maps in this guidebook as it is essential that you are able to ascertain your position in the wider context, should you need to abandon your walk and make for the nearest road or habitation. The walks described in this guidebook are covered by the following Ordnance Survey maps:
- OS Explorer 1:25,000 sheet 397 Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna and Sanday
- OS Landranger 1:50,000 sheet 39 Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna
A compass is indispensable and a ‘wristwatch’ altimeter is also very useful for navigation, especially on the hills of Rum. It’s not quite so easy to get lost when walking along the island coastlines, but it is important that you know exactly where you are, especially in poor weather/visibility and if for any reason you need to head inland from the coast.
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Updates
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We do not yet have any updates available for this book
We are always grateful to readers for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground. If you would like to send some information to us then please use our contact form. They will be published here following review by the author(s).
By Peter Edwards
Since moving to Scotland from the south of England in 2006, Peter has developed a passion for the Hebrides. He lives at Rhenigidale on the Isle of Harris with his wife, Fiona, and their Labradors, Dougal and Mara.
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By Katie Featherstone
Katie is a freelance writer focusing mainly on hiking, history and sustainable travel. She has published a guidebook to the Inner Hebrides, writes articles and walking routes for a number of magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian, Trail, TGO Magazine and The Independent, and is currently working on several walking guidebooks for Cicerone. Living in West Scotland, she enjoys walking and cycling whatever the weather - Loch Lomond and the Trossachs is her nearest national park and somewhere she tries to spend as much time as possible.
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