My mate, Alan, and myself had spent the first part of the week in Glen Coe (with plans to attempt the Aonach Eagach ridge which were foiled by very poor weather) and we joined the other members of our party, at Sheena's Backpackers Lodge in Mallaig, on the evening of 8th April. The other people were Stephen N (obviously, as he was the organiser), Brian F, Jim B, Joe W, Diane J and Sheila O, a select group of athletes chosen specially for this trip.

As we drove into Mallaig on the evening of 8th April we saw the large Caledonian Macbrayne car ferry in port, and though I knew that we could not take our cars on to Rům (because they do not have any roads) I was looking forward to a pleasant trip across the sea in the morning on this large vessel - my first mistake!

On 9th April we awoke at 5.00arn to get ready for the 6.00 am departure, and we made our way down to the quayside with our baggage (which was considerable as we had to carry walking gear and food/drink because we would be self-catering) to board the ferry. As we stood there, in the dark, waiting for our instructions to board the large ferry Steve informed us that if we placed our bags by the waters edge members of the crew would put all our bags into one large hold-all and lift them, using a crane, onto the ferry for us, thereby saving us the effort of having to carry all our baggage. I watched as our bags were lifted up by a crane attached to a small tugboat, which was alongside the large ferry, and then placed onto the deck of this small vessel. I then turned to Steve to ask him how our bags were going to be transferred to the large ferry and he informed me that this small boat was our ferry! I stood there in disbelief.

Once I, and other members of our party, recovered from the shock we boarded our tiny vessel and prepared for the 3˝ hour journey to Rům via Canna. The refreshment lounge consisted of a teenage boy sat behind a hatch with a kettle, some crisps and some chocolate bars -so much for the lovely bacon buttie I was hoping for. The crossing was interesting to say the least. I can only relate it to a fairground ride. Think of the Big One, the Bucking Bronco and the Log Flume all rolled into one and you get the picture. On board was a party of approximately 30 Belgians who all took it in turns to be sick.

When we arrived in Rům's harbour we had to decant onto an even smaller boat to get to shore. It was a great relief to stand on terra firma again. We checked into our accommodation for the weekend, Kinloch Castle, a magnificent building built at the turn of the century by an eccentric playboy from Accrington. Apart from the castle there are just a few cottages and bothies on the island, with a population of 25. The castle has four wings to it, one wing is a hostel (where we were staying), one wing is a hotel and the other two wings are as left in the 1920s and make an interesting visit for tourists.

After unpacking Steve suggested we spend the afternoon walking to the bay of Harris on the far side of the island. The weather was poor and it was a fairly unsatisfactory walk in the mist. However, the couple of hours walking were made worthwhile by the splendid views at the bay of Harris. The coastline was beautiful with the waves crashing against the rocks, but the most interesting sight was the Greek style mausoleum. A bizarre feature for a small Scottish island.

That night the Belgians were having a party/sing-song (photo: 50k), which we were able to gatecrash thanks to the language skills of our leader. A merry time was had by all.

On 10th April we made an assault on the Rům Cuillins, with the intention to get to the top of Askival (the highest peak at 2663 ft) (photo: 38k). The various speeds of the group led us to splitting into two groups, with Jim, Alan and myself "sprinting" ahead of the others. As we walked up Hallival to go along the ridge up to Askival the wind became really strong, so strong that we had to abandon the path and find an alternative way, up to the top, out of the wind. We didn't know if the other party (who we were going to meet for lunch) had continued or gone back. Having finally reached the top of Hallival (photo: 43k) we gave up our attempt to get to the top of Askival (it was too dangerous in that wind) and we dropped down to the coastline instead, in search of a Celtic cross which we never found. Whilst descending to the coastline we encountered a gust of wind that was so strong it knocked all three of us off our feet. (The other party also reached the top of Hallival and then had to retrace its steps, arriving back at the Castle in time to assist in the evacuation of the Belgians (photo: 42k) - Ed)

On 11th April the weather was so awful we agreed to do a low level walk to Kilmory, at the North of the island, as this would give us the chance to see the red deer (which are off-limits weekdays because they are being studied). It never stopped raining. At the bay of Kilmory we saw a stag walk into the sea (impersonating Reginald Perrin?) and slowly cross the water to the other shore. It was quite a sight and made up for all the rain. Once back at the castle, showered and dry again, I was looking forward to going home the following day because the weather was so bad - my second mistake.

On 12th April we all packed our bags, threw away any unused food, cleaned the kitchen and prepared for the journey home. Before the ferry was due to arrive we had a couple of hours to kill. We arranged for a tour of the castle. This was conducted by a lovely Kiwi by the name of Tanya. The tour was very interesting, and it was made even more interesting when Freddie (the man who ran the place) popped his head round the door of the billiard room to inform us, with a big smile, that our ferry was cancelled (due to very strong winds), it was cancelled for the following day and that it might attempt a crossing the day after that. He then quickly disappeared. It is a very strange feeling being told that you are stranded on an island for at least two more days, especially when you have planned down to the last penny, the last drink, the last bit of food, the last item of clean clothing. We continued with the tour in a state of bemusement. Various thoughts entered my head as we were being shown around the castle: I am nearly out of money; all the food has gone; will we be allowed to stay here? What about work? I haven't got any clean underpants!

The phone calls to parents, girlfriend and work were all interesting. Disbelief at the other end of the phone. "Where are you?" "You can't get off the island?" "Have you got any clean underpants?"

A situation like this brings people together. It is a bonding experience. We enjoyed a hotel meal that night as we laughed and joked about the strange (and unexpected) situation we found ourselves in. Would we ever get off this island? Would we have to turn to cannibalism when the supplies ran out? Who would we eat first?

They say every cloud has a silver lining, and this could not have been truer than when we awoke on 13th April. We should have all been back home or at work, but instead we were still on the Isle of Rům surrounded by snow covered mountains. Wow!

Five of us agreed to have another assault on Askival. It was fantastic walking in the crisp snow. As we got higher we could see across the sea to Skye and mainland Scotland, which were also covered in snow. It was picture postcard stuff. As we got near to the final ascent of Askival we could see a snowstorm coming in very fast from the sea. We had to abandon (again) the thoughts of getting to the summit and instead descend to a safer area. The snowstorm quickly passed and four of us agreed to attempt the summit of Barkeval (whose peak is closest to the middle of the island). This walk was superb. The views in all directions were incredible. Well worth the effort.

That evening we had another hotel meal together, again laughing and joking about the possibility of not getting off the island the following day. I consumed a whole bottle of wine to celebrate a fantastic day in the snow.

On the morning of 14th April we again packed as if we were going home. The weather forecast wasn't great though. Gale force winds on the way. We were told that the ferry had left the mainland in an attempt to reach us. We all waited by the water not knowing if the ferry would arrive or if it had turned back to the mainland. It was a relief to see the ferry come round the headland, but all was not well. We would have to use a small orange dingy (which didn't have much space) to get from shore to the island's small boat (because the tide was low), and then the small boat would take us to the (small) ferry. This was to involve many trips because they had to get all the baggage & people who were leaving the island across to the ferry , via the two smaller boats, and then the people on the ferry, plus supplies for the island, onto shore.

As we boarded the ferry I could see that the captain was not a happy man. He was clearly concerned about the deteriorating conditions and the length of time it was taking to get everybody on and off his boat. When we finally started our journey away from Rům it was nice to watch Kinloch Castle disappear into the distance as we left the harbour.

Then as we got out of the safety of the harbour we entered a whole new area of our "adventure". The open sea was incredibly choppy. We were being tossed about like a matchstick. Though we had all thought that the journey from Mallaig to Rům had been rough, it was a pussycat compared to this. The sea crossing was the most amazing ride I have ever experienced, better than all the "whiteknuckle" rides I have ever been on. We were so relieved to be finally heading home that hysteria set in. Though we should have been terrified about this journey, we just sat, or stood, on deck clinging on to anything that was fixed to the boat, laughing and joking about the whole experience. The captain tried to continue the scheduled journey to Canna, but he had to give up and turn back to the mainland (Thank God!).

When we disembarked at Mallaig, we were overcome by the need for food. It had to be fish & chips. After the food it was the long journey back to Manchester, but it was made all the more enjoyable by recounting our experiences/memories of Rům.

I would like to thank Steve for organising this "little" adventure, and the other people there who made it an enjoyable experience.