Following the cancellation of the March work party , David Armstrong the Castle Manager has given us a new date, the weekend of the 8th to the 11th June.  He has reserved the entire castle accommodation for our party and this may be our last opportunity to have the honour of a dinner in the castle dining room.It will also be an excellent opportunity to find out the full situation there and plan any future strategies. 

We will be holding the AGM during that weekend and will be continuing our review of the Constitution. It is most important that as many members as possible are present. Please contact Catherine Duckworth, 1 Mitton Road, Whalley, Clitheroe, BB7 9RX 01254 823323 catherine@whalleyvillage.freeserve.co.uk to book your place. Chcek out further details 

Following the cancellation of the March work party due to work at the Castle, a meeting will take place of members of the KCFA at The Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Glasgow University, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ. A sandwich lunch will be available at £4.50 per head from 12 noon. 

Please make every effort to be there. All members should have received notification about this. 

The March work party has had to be cancelled. There is extensive work taking place at the castle, including roof repairs and extensive dry rot treatments. This means that many rooms are out of use or are needed for the workmen. There is uncertainty about the castle being open at the beginning of April as planned.

This also means that we are having to urgently rearrange our AGM which was planned to take place over that weekend. It is likely to take place on Saturday the 24th March in Glasgow. Please make every effort to be there as it is a very important meeting. As soon as we have a firm date and venue, you will be informed.  

SNH Press Release 23/12/2011

Temporary visitor accommodation may be installed on the Isle of Rum following concerns about the hostel in eth island's Kinloch Castle.

Most of Rum is owned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and managed as a national nature reserve.

Kinloch Castle, also owned by SNH, is a major visitor attraction and the main provider of visitor accommodation. However the building requires major investment, well beyond the reaches of SNH's budget. SNH has spent over £1 million on the castle in the past few years. But despite this and major efforts by staff the hostel is unable to offer accommodation to the standard visitors expect of a modern hostel. 

Last year SNH announced it may have to close the hostel part of the castle within two or three years due to increasing repair and maintenance costs, and began talks with the local community about business opportunities in visitor facilities. 

SNH is now looking into the possibility of installing high quality temporary visitor accommodation in case the hostel has to close before the community is ready to take advantage of the business opportunity. 

Sarah Bentley, SNH operations manager, explained:"We have had numerous problems with the hostel, including the discovery of dry rot in part of the building, falls and weakness in some of the plaster ceilings and difficulties with the boiler. The facilities require significant investment to bring them up to a reasonable standard. We are therefore exploring the best option to ensure we can continue to provide facilities for people to visit the island and enjoy the spectacular beauty of the national nature reserve and the principal wings of the castle.

"We have been working closely with the Isle of Rum Community Trust to develop plans for longer term accommodation and facilities on the island. This is progressing well, with a feasibility study due to start in January. However, given time scales for funding, planning, construction, etc, it is unlikely that any new facility would be ready for two or three years.

"Accommodation for visitors next season will either be in the castle hostel as normal or in temporary visitor accommodation of an even higher standard. The temporary accommodation will reduce the risk of an emergency closure leaving Rum with no visitor accommodation. As new accommodation develops it will allow us to focus our resources on conserving the castle itself."

Vikki Trelfer, the Isle of Rum Community Trust's development officer, said:"Kinloch Castle and its hostel is a real draw for visitors to the island, but the community has been aware for some time that there is uncertainlty over its future. Closure of the hostel will create space for much-needed business opportunities both for private individuals and for the Community Trust to generate an income by providing accommodation and services for visitors."

Ewan Macdonald, Chair of Kinloch Ccastle Friends Association, said:" it is important that visitor access to the Castle and reserve is maintained and we welcome the plan to provide alternative temporary accommodation. We are committeed to the conservation of the Castle and its contents and would prefer that its state was such that visitors could continue to use the hostel. We appreciate that SNH has allocated considerable funds to essential maintenance in the past few years, but that has not been enough to prevent deterioration. It is therefore important that this new unplanned expenditure will not divert funds from the necessary work on the Castle."

Even if the hostel closes, SNH will continue to run tours of the main wings of Kinloch Castle, showcasing the Edwardian interior. The organisation is also developing a conservation plan for the castle to conserve the fabric of the building. Works are currently being carried out on the castle roof as part of this plan.

Alastair Scott gave an illustrated talk and signed copies of his book at the launch of the book in Accrington Library lecture hall, St James Street, Accrington, BB5 1NQ on Wednesday 1st June at 2pm. Abut 40 people gathered to listen to an enthralling talk about the Bulloughs and particularly about George Bullough.

Several members of the KCFA were there to support him.  

'Eccentric Wealth' is a well researched and fascinating story of the rise of the Bulloughs from Accrington, the purchase of the island of Rum and the building of Kinloch Castle and its use as a holiday home with a difference. Alastair has written several travel books and has visited Rum and the castle over many years. 'Eccentric Wealth' is published in paperback by Birlinn and priced at £9.99.

ISBN 978-1-84158-955-8

Sean Morris has lived on Rum for over 15 years, initially as Field Officer for the Kilmory Deer Study and later for SNH. In April 2010 he was airlifted from the islands and diagnosed with coronary heart disease, and on 19th April 2010 he underwent a heart bypass operation. Due to the skill of the surgeons and the excellent care of many doctors and nurses both before and after the operation he is now able to lead a normal active life again with his wife and two year old daughter.

As a mark of gratitude for this he is to walk the Rum Cuillin Ridge, a walk of some 14 miles. He is asking for sponsorship online through www.virginmoneygiving.com/seanmorris2

As an update to this, Sean completed the walk and has raised over £2000. He sends his thanks to all who supported him in this worthwhile event. 

While the news is better than we feared regarding the hostel, there are still considerable problems with the building and the concern in SNH was that the problems MAY cause closure before it is planned. However roof and guttering repairs are to take place shortly which must help to keep the building usable.

We have grave concerns that the Rum Community will find it difficult to provide enough alternatives in the time scale allotted. We also have major concerns over the fate of the castle. The intention appears to be to repair the roof etc, then leave the castle locked up and uninhabited.  Tours will be available but how this will be run is unknown. We are very concerned about the condition of the contents. Please read the latest newsletter for more in depth information.