This comprehensive guide brings to the reader an idea of the island of Rum's history, geography and geology, fauna and flora and culture.

Where is the earliest human settlement site yet discovered in Scotland?
Which British Prime Minister inherited the island of Rum in 1866?
Why was Rum known as ‘the Forbidden Isle’ prior to 1957?
To which Scottish castle was John Betjeman referring when he wrote in 1959: 'in time to come the castle will be a place of pilgrimage for all those who want to see how people lived in good King Edward’s days'?
What has been the effect on the red deer population in the Kilmory area of stopping culling in 1972?
Where in Britain was the white-tailed (sea) eagle successfully reintroduced in the 1980s, some seventy years after the last native bird was shot?

Magnus Magnusson answers these and many other questions in this fascinating story of the Hebridean island of Rum. It moves from earliest times through to the Clearances and its period as the sporting playground of a Lancashire industrial magnate, and on to its rebirth as a National Nature Reserve, a model for the active ecological management of Scotland’s wild places.

Thoroughly researched and written in a lively and accessible style, this book includes comprehensive coverage of the island’s geology, wildlife, plants, and people, with a special chapter on the Edwardian extravaganza of Kinloch Castle. This 'temple to private indulgence', as Magnusson describes it, cost some £15m in today’s terms to create. There is practical information for visitors including details of bothy and other accommodation, walks and heritage trails. The book closes with a positive vision for the island’s future: biologically diverse, economically dynamic and ecologically sustainable.

Containing practical advice for visitors to what was once termed the 'Forbidden Isle', this comprehensive guide brings to the reader an idea of Rum's history, geography and geology, fauna and flora and culture.