Bits and Bobs
I’m headed back to Edinburgh today (to see Aidan dance at the Fringe Festival!), so I figured on the long train ride I’d share some random tidbits from my time in Rum. Think of this as the junk drawer of posts!
Manx Shearwaters: Rum is one of the biggest breeding grounds for the Manx Shearwaters, who nest in little burrows throughout the Rum Cuillin Also, their scientific name is “Puffinus puffinus” — despite the fact that they are not Puffins.
Hooded Crows: These guys were all over the island. Their heads and wings are black, but their body is a grayish white. In addition to being big chatterboxes, they were super clever — they would grab shellfish and drop them on the rocks to crack them open, meaning you’d find shells scattered about very far from shore.
Poop Mushrooms: Because it’s so wet on Rum, any big piles of cow or stag poop grew mushrooms. I found these poopshrooms hilarious.
Magnifying Posts: The Nature Trail loop had a few cute little posts with a magnifying lens on top and a sign that encouraged walkers to put a flower or a leaf under it to view it more closely.
“Oily” appearance of the boggy areas: This is actually so cool.
Cute craft “shack shops” around the island:
