Many still mark Scotland’s traditional quarter days which are echoes of older religious festivals. If, like us, you enjoy living in tune with the seasons, a hip flask is ideal for summer and winter solstice celebrations or after a day’s foraging. Imagine how rewarding a juicy dram of sloe gin will taste after a long day foraging for wild berries! The only other notable feature is Kinloch Castle – a grand 19th-century country house that was built for the wealthy Sir George Bullough and is occasionally open for guided tours.

Hip flasks are a discreet, practical and stylish way to carry booze on the move. Think summer adventures in the hills, toasting the mountain after an arduous climb, or sharing a dram around the campfire. Hip flasks are also great to have at hand (or hip!) for weddings or other Scottish celebrations that demand boozy toasts. Traditionalists who like to “first-foot” friends and neighbours on Hogmanay wouldn’t be without a hip flask containing fine, single malt whisky, and a wee nip is used to toast the river at the beginning of fishing season. Multi-day possibilities include camping at the old bothy at Culra, or a station-to-station trip from Rannoch to Corrour as described in Classic Walks. And once we were down at lower levels and I could stop-with-the-fear-already, the sense of remoteness, beauty and tranquillity won through. I would happily hermitage at either of the Bothies (is that the right use of the word?) for a few weeks. Stunning. Absolutely stunning. The island of Rum easily rivals its famous neighbour Skye for scenery, yet it’s much quieter and has a real off-the-grid atmosphere. If you really want to get away from crowds of tourists, a visit to Rum should be at the top of your list of places to go.Hiking: The island boasts spectacular terrain with rugged hills and a beautiful coastline. There are several marked trails, but the challenge of climbing Rum’s highest peak, Askival, is a must-do for experienced hikers.

They are Perth-based Chapter 7 Whisky, who won for their Chapter 7 Monologue Blended Scotch Whisky, which is aged for 26 years in a single sherry butt.

The entire island is managed by the public body Nature Scot as a National Nature Reserve, and due to the fact it’s so remote and has just 40 people living on it, Rum is one of the few places in Scotland that remains almost entirely unchanged by tourism. It feels incredible to have your product, that really is a labour of love, recognised by such prestigious awards”, says Kim Cameron, founder of the Gin Bothy and Rum Bothy. “ As a small independent producer a 3 star Great Taste Award can be a game changer as it has such credibility in the food and drink sector, opening retailer listings that we wouldn’t have had before. We were also winners in 2016 for our Gunshot gin so to also have one for our Rum is fantastic. It makes us now the most award-winning Great Taste spirit producer in Scotland, with the majority of our range holding these awards.” In short, there’s many reasons to carry a hip flask. Keep reading for more occasions where you’ll be glad of a hip flask this summer. Fishing. There are six lochs on Rum (Loch Papadil, Loch Coire nan Gruund, Loch MacIvor, Loch Fiachanis, Loch a’Ghillie Reamhra, and Loch Longwhich) which are open for fishing between April and October. Once the rest of the group (you know, the fit, fearless section) met me at Dibidil we pitched the fly sheets and sorted out a bivvy spot for the night.

In some places and at certain moments it was really tough for me. I don’t mind tough, we all build personal stories and myths about ourselves, internal narratives – and one of mine is that I’m tenacious and also probably too dim to know when to stop slogging forward. Which is why I loved schoolboy rugby in the cold and rain, I really enjoyed the ‘battle’. And I really engaged with Frodo’s travails when I read Lord of the Rings as a youth. The idea was to head off from Kinloch (where the ferry comes in) and walk across the mountains of Barkeval, Hallival, Askival, Trollaval, Ainshval and Sgurr nan Gillean. Just bear in mind that each council area in Scotland has its own byelaws around public drinking. In Edinburgh, for example, you can freely drink from a hip flask in public but must stop if asked to by the police. Hop on the train to Glasgow, however, and it’s a different story. Drinking alcohol in public places has been illegal in Glasgow since 1996. Time: (summer conditions) 10–12 hours (7–9 hours from Bob Scotts Bothy) Cycling into the Mountain Rescue Post at Derry Lodge is one option to shorten the day. History Note. The bothy originally would have been a shepherd’s cottage dating around the late 19th Century. Following the clearances (1825-28), the island was used for large-scale sheep farming, with some 10,000 sheep by about 1880, Guirdil being one of several hirsels on the island. It is not clear when the sheep were cleared and Guirdil abandoned. It may have been from 1914-18, when most of the younger men, horses and ponies left to fight in the Great War and never returned.Rum National Nature Reserve: The entire reserve is a paradise for nature lovers. It covers most of the island and is home to a vast range of wildlife from rare plants to otters, as well as red deer which are the focus of the world’s longest-running scientific study.

I’m not going to give a peak by peak account of the first day, I’ll let some photos give you a sense of the place. Never use soap, as it leaves a residue that will spoil the taste of your next drink. HOW LONG CAN YOU STORE ALCOHOL IN A HIP FLASK? Most notably, these included three spirits, each of which received the maximum 3 star accreditation from the 355 judges, who attended 86 days of socially-distanced judging in London and Dorset, and included food writer Xanthe Clay and Kavi Thakrar, founder of Dishoom. Although generally benign in midsummer, the high plateau of Ben Macdui has a fearsome reputation in the winter season, which can begin as early as September and can last through until May. Exposed to the elemental forces of wind and ice, and often cloaked in seemingly impenetrable cloud, this can be a wild, unforgiving place as well as an eerie environment that challenges the senses. In mist or towards nightfall, you can understand why the enduring legend of Am Fear Liath Mòr (the Big Grey Man) has persisted over the years. Haunting the top of the mountain, the spectre is said to induce unease and even panic. Speaking of evidence of wildlife.. I meant to mention on the previous post that sections of the Cuillins were riddled with burrows for what I think were Manx Shearwaters.As a usual whisky/whiskey drinker I have to say that this is slightly on the sweet side, but the brown sugar / molasses type hit somewhere amongst the other spices is something you start to search for, gives a real mouth feel, and adds to the great complexity of this rum. Start/End Grid Ref: NM 931 799 (56.8645,-5.3961) Small layby at Drochaid Sgainnir off the A830 'Road to the Isles'. It is easy to miss the layby; two grey bollards mark the entrance. For eager baggers there is the incentive to complete the round of the White Mounth (1051m) and Broad Cairn (998m). Inside the rather large but rather dark room, there is a sturdy table, a scattering of chairs, and a bizarre candelabra hanging from the ceiling. In 2012 the Friends of Bob Scott’s donated a stove – a very welcome addition. A steep wooden ladder leads up to an attic space. There are thriving colonies of golden eagles and sea eagles, one of the world’s largest breeding colonies of Manx shearwater, and a coastline that’s a favourite breeding ground for otters and seals.