About Us & Our Plans

Our Story

In 1947, the land at Rumster was taken over by The Forestry Commission from Forse Estates to form the first planned forestry plantation in Caithness. Following a change in forestry management practices in 1971, the forester’s cottage became available and was converted into an outdoor centre which was managed by Highland Council until it closed in 1998.

• In 2004, The Rumster Outdoor Centre Steering Group was formed with a view to reinstating an outdoor centre in Rumster Forest                             
• In 2005, The Rumster Outdoor Centre Management Group was formed from the original Steering Group
• In 2006, the original building was destroyed by fire

Our Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan – Updated August 2025

It remains the intention that this Strategic Plan should be used to detail the actions necessary to achieve the Company’s objectives.  This is a live document which will be used to control and monitor progress towards our ultimate objective.  The document will be reviewed at each Directors’ Meeting and detail will be added as necessary.

Now that there is a building on site, we will :

• Plan an opening event.
• Plan a migration from the current phase of building procurement and installation to an operational phase where we will work with relevant organisations to ensure that the site will be used to benefit the communities of Caithness and provide a recreational facility which will contribute significantly to the health and wellbeing of all sections of the community.
• Develop a business plan for the operational phase of the facility.
• Seek to arrange events on site over the Autumn of 2025.

In addition, we will :

• Complete the installation of a camp kitchen.
• Manage the provision of a power supply to the building.
• Arrange activities on site in 2026.
• Continue to raise public awareness of the work of the Company and of our desire to provide a focal point in Caithness for outdoor recreation, education and other activities to promote wellbeing within the community by organising fundraising activities and promoting events onsite.
• Expand the membership of the Company to include individuals and organisations committed to the project.
• Ensure that the site is maintained by regular grass cutting, trimming hedges etc. So that a functional site is visible to users.
• Work with Forestry and Land Scotland to improve the forest environment around our site.
• Look at developing the forest path network for cycling / horse riding / carriage driving / walking and provide signage and seating as appropriate.
• We will continue to work with Forestry and Land Scotland to promote the use of Rumster Forest for leisure activities, particularly where they contribute to health and wellbeing within the community. In this regard, we welcome recent indications that Forestry and Land Scotland are interested in a greater involvement in the project and have expressed an interest in attending board meetings.

Some of the above objectives are in hand or awaiting funding at this time.  It is seen as essential that everything possible is done to encourage new members of the company either to become fully involved or just to be on record as supporting our aims and objectives.  There is still an urgent need to have more volunteer help available for site maintenance and assistance with the logistics of event organisation.