Rum NNR - About the reserve

Managing habitats and inspiring people

Rum NNR includes the majority of the island from which it takes its name. The largest of the Small Isles off Scotland’s west coast, Rum is a dramatic mountainous landscape with a great diversity of habitats. The reserve is an internationally important site for geological features, upland habitats, plant communities and breeding birds.

NatureScot owns and manages most of the island. The Isle of Rum Community Trust owns some property and land in and around the village at Kinloch.

Island habitat

Our priorities for managing Rum are to enhance the mosaic of habitats and populations of species and to increase their resilience to climate change. For each habitat, we manage grazing to a sustainable level to keep the protected habitats in good condition.

This involves managing impacts from deer and feral goats. We control invasive non-native species, including rhododendron and cotoneaster. We’re also monitoring the presence of brown rats in the Manx shearwater colony.

Engaging people with nature

We want visiting the reserve to be a welcoming and memorable experience for everyone. We work in partnership with the Isle of Rum Community Trust to deliver aspects of visitor management on the island.

We provide facilities for visitors, and these are supplemented by those managed by the Isle of Rum Community Trust and local businesses. We manage access and paths on the island and provide a wildlife hide and information and a waiting room at the pier. We also run events focusing on the natural heritage of the island.

The Isle of Rum Community Trust manages the bunkhouse and campsite. The ranger service manages the visitor centre and provides guided walks and illustrated talks. There is also a general store and a cafe In the village hall.

Management planning

We plan our management carefully to make sure that the special qualities of the reserve thrive. In this way it will always give visitors an enjoyable experience and engage people with nature.

We produce 10-year plans for our reserves. Find out more about how we manage Rum NNR:

• The Management Plan – sets out our priorities and tasks for managing the reserve between 2016 and 2026.
• The Reserve Story – an introduction to the natural heritage, historical interest, past management and designations which protect the reserve.
• Habitat Management Plan 2023-2026 - this plan translates the broad management objectives set out in the Rum NNR Management Plan 2016-2026 into targeted prescriptions and an action plan to guide the reserve staff through implementation.
• Rum NNR - Breeding bird monitoring results - provides a summary of population counts for key breeding birds on the island from 2017-2019.
• Rum NNR - Wildfire Report 2018

Protected areas

Rum NNR overlaps with several protected areas:

• Rum Special Area of Conservation
• Rum Special Protection Area
• Rum Site of Special Scientific Interest

Find out more about these protected areas and their designated features by searching the map.

Find out more

Learn more about Scotland’s National Nature Reserves.

Discover how protected areas safeguard our natural heritage.

Find out more on

• Visiting the reserve
• Visiting the reserve leaflet
• Getting involved
• Visit more of our nature reserves

Related Links

• Designation and management of Scotland’s National Nature Reserves
• Learn more about other protected areas