I volunteered with the Rum Bunkhouse for 3 weeks in November. It's hard to sum up what the experience was like in a blog post as there were lots of different aspects of my volunteering experience that made it so memorable. Something that really stuck out for me was how balanced I felt each day...every weekday I spent around 4 hours volunteering, doing various tasks like sandpapering walls, shovelling mud to clear the driveway, learning how to sand wood, cutting back vegetation. All of the tasks were quite physical (which I know can differ depending on each volunteer's skillset and preferences). For me, being physical and working mostly outside meant that I went to sleep physically tired each night, but mentally very rested which was a lovely thing to experience.
Outside of my volunteering hours, I did lots of exploring. One of my favourite parts of Rum is the woodland, a 5-10 minute walk left of the ferry port (about 15 minutes from Rum bunkhouse). I first walked through the woodland when I visited Rum in August where everything was so intensely green. Seeing it again in the Autumn was really special...it was still very beautiful and full of life, just different life. Fewer leaves and far more mushrooms. I also loved seeing the exposed ruins of ancient settlements... really special to stand in them and imagine how they once were lived in.
Another big highlight of my trip was walking to Dibidil bothy via the Rum Cuillin. We were lucky with the weather - it was a clear day, but quite windy. In the end, we only did half of the Rum Cuillin (Hallival and Askival) before making the decision to descend into the valley rather than risking lack of light. We had a lovely evening in Dibidil bothy, making friends with a lone mountain goat who we saw in the evening and the next morning. It was a soggy walk back the next day...but I guess it wouldn't have been the full Rum experience if we didn't finish with wet feet!
