Raasay

Raasay (Gaelic: Ratharsair, "Roe deer isle") is an island off the east coast of Skye in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It's 14 miles long by 5 miles wide, with its main settlement Inverarish clustered near the ferry pier on its southwest coast. Raasay's population of 161 in 2011 was about as low as it has ever been.

Understand

Dun Caan from Loch na Mna

"My survey of Rasay did not furnish much which can interest my readers".

- Boswell visited with Dr Johnson in 1773

Ice age glaciers gouged deep valleys through Skye, which flooded to become fjords separated by peninsulas. The north coast resembles a beast's paw with three stubby fingers, and Raasay is a detached fourth finger, with Rona its detached claw. There is little arable land, and the terrain is rugged granite. You come here as much to get away from the rest of the world as to see what's here. One notable visitor with that in mind was Bonnie Prince Charlie: on 1 July 1746 he parted from Flora Macdonald, who'd arranged his escape to Skye, and sailed to Raasay. But he saw it was a dangerous dead-end and next day he doubled back to Skye.

When Johnson and Boswell visited in 1773 the population was growing rapidly towards its peak of 900, and they were entertained in style. But little income could be raised from such poor farmland, the hereditary chieftain and landowner became mired in debt, and then the potato famines of the 1840s struck the Highlands. Many islanders left for city life or for Canada, and the rest were forced out - the notorious Clearances - so the land could be used for more profitable sheep-farming and deer- and grouse-shooting. Whole villages were abandoned: best known is Hallaig, immortalised in a poem by Sorley Maclean (1911-1996), who was born and grew up on Raasay.

There was a brief flurry of industry during World War I, when iron ore was mined to reduce the need for imports; and this has created another abandoned village just east of Inverarish. Post-war the main business was forestry. Tourism grew in the late 20th century when Skye became easier to reach from the mainland, first by ro-ro ferries then by the bridge. A further boost to Raasay came with the creation of a distillery, with the first whisky on sale from 2020.

Visitor information

There isn't a tourist office, but Raasay Development Trust have info on island sights and amenities.

Get in

1 Inverarish, the main village of Raasay, has Calmac ferries from Sconser on Skye, taking 25 min. These sail year-round, M-Sa roughly hourly (8:25AM to 6:45PM, with a 9PM sailing Saturday) and three on Sundays. Until end of March 2025, return fares are £15.30 per car, £4.60 per adult including driver, and £2.30 per child aged 5-15. No booking, just turn up and pay on board. The usual ferry on this route, MV Hallaig commemorating the abandoned village, is a small ro-ro with deck seating and a passenger saloon but no cafe. There are toilets on the ferry and in the waiting rooms by both jetties.

Old maps may show Raasay's ferry pier at Suisnish a mile further south, but that is now derelict. MV Raasay the venerable ferry that served the island until 1997 now hauls cargo to Inishbofin Island off the Galway coast.

Sconser has free parking, and it's on the Citylink bus routes from Glasgow and Inverness, plus local buses run between Broadford and Portree. See Skye#Get in for routes.

Get around

You can easily walk the south end, between ferry pier, Raasay House and distillery. You need wheels to go north along the bleak ridge lane, where some wag has erected a sign to the North Pole and a caution against flying pigs. There's no public transport, taxi, car hire or filling station on the island. Most visitors bring their own car, as much to shelter from the wind, rain and midges as to explore. Raasay is a very relaxing place for the fourth and fifth gears of those cars: motorists spend much of their time straining in first and second, and seldom get above third.

See

• The battery by the ferry pier was an artillery position built in 1809, in case Napoleon tried invade via Raasay. It's not clear how the two mermaids were meant to assist the defence.
• St Moluag’s Chapel is a 13th-century ruined chapel just behind Raasay House (see Sleep). St Moluag christianised the island in the 6th century and lived around here as a monk.
• 1 The Pictish Stone stands in Kennel Wood a little way north of Raasay House. Its style suggests the 8th/9th centuries; a similar nearby stone was described in Victorian times but disappeared circa 1900. There's also a faint Pictish cross carved into the rocks along the shore.
• A Pictish broch on the hillside behind the distillery is just a jumble of stones.
• 2 Eyre Point Lighthouse is a gaunt metal tower at the end of the lane along the south coast. The ruined cottage above the lane was the home of John Mackay (1767 to 1848), a notable piper and archivist of traditional bagpipe tunes.
• 3 Iron ore mines and the miners' village lie in ruins along the lane to Fearns. The mines were active during the First World War when imports were restricted.
• 4 Hallaig is the abandoned crofting village mourned by Sorley Maclean. Follow the lane to Fearns then the footpath.
• 5 Brochel Castle is a stump of masonry on the northeast coast. It was built in the 15th century and abandoned in the 17th.

Calum's Road

• Calum's Road, the lane north of Brochel, was hewn out in the 1960s and 70s. Until then, the road ended at Brochel and didn't reach Arnish. This area had been spared the clearances and was still populated, but residents either had to lump it on rough paths to the roadhead, or take a boat to Portree as if they lived on a separate island from Raasay. Complaints and petitions to the Council got nowhere: there was neither money nor political will for roads or any other development in such a remote spot. So Calum Macleod (1911-1988) set about building a road, while continuing his work as a crofter, postman and lighthouse keeper, and his interests as a local historian and Gaelic author. It was just a couple of miles, but across rugged terrain, to create a track suitable for 4WD. The government undertook the initial rock-blasting but from there on it was hard slog by Calum and his brother Charles. His feat has inspired songs, a book and play; it's crying out for film. In 1982 the Council adopted the track as a public highway and tarmacked it, but this came too late to save the Arnish district from depopulation. And it meant Calum could no longer legally drive along his road, since he'd never bothered getting a driving licence.
• 6 Fladday is a tidal island with a few cottages but no permanent residents. Park at Arnish and follow the track through Torran, then either hug the coast or cut across the hill to reach the short causeway. This is passable for three hours either side of low tide: check times on Easytide using Portree as the reference port. "Fladday" or Flodda and similar are common island names, from Old Norse floti, a raft.
• 7 Eilean Tigh is also a tidal island, reached by a two hour hike up the track from Arnish. "Tigh" means "house" but these lie in ruins.
• 8 South Rona is an island a mile north of Eilean Tigh. There's no regular transport, you'd need to charter a boat from Portree; An Acarsaid Mhòr or "Big Harbour" is the sheltered fjord on its northwest coast. The terrain is rugged granite, as on Lewis, so there's scant pasture and a lack of fresh water. It became depopulated mid-20th century but since 1992 a couple have restored the cottage and offer self-catering lets. It's usually just called Rona, adding "south" to distinguish it from North Rona, far more remote.

Do

Ruined cottage at Hallaig

- mun tig an ciaradh air na caoil, ’s nuair theàrnas grian air cùl Dhùn Cana, thig peilear dian à gunna Ghaoil;

"Then as the kyles go dim, And the sun sets behind Dun Cana, Love's loaded gun will take aim."

- from Hallaig by Sorley Maclean, translated by Seamus Heaney.

• Walk: the Forestry Commission, who manage Raasay's woodlands, have a helpful leaflet showing strolling and hiking trails around the island.
• Climb Dùn Caan, the island's highest point at 443 metres (1453 ft). The path leaves the lane 2 miles north of the ferry pier. It's an obvious but rocky path heading southeast onto the ridge, then a sharp ascent to the top. Steep drop-offs give fine views but make descent hazardous in misty weather.
• Spot the vole: the Raasay vole (Clethrionomys glareolus erica) is found nowhere else in the world. It's a bank vole, but darker and heavier than the mainland variety.
• Look up your ancestors: Raasay Heritage Trust are based in the village mill (which they're trying to restore) south of the pier. They can help with ancestor research. The big emigration and clearances from the island were in the 1840s after the potato harvest failed, as in Ireland; civil registration in Scotland began in 1855.

Buy

• Raasay Community Stores, 29/30 Inverarish Terrace IV40 8NS, ☏ +44 1478 660203. M-Sa 9AM-5PM (Post Office 9:30AM-noon). Small licensed grocery shop and Post Office. (updated Jun 2024)
• Raasay Gallery. M-F 11AM-5PM. 

Eat

Isle of Raasay Distillery

• Reservations needed for Raasay House and the distillery restaurant; or buy your own food from the store.

Drink

• Isle of Raasay Distillery is 200 yards east of the ferry pier. It makes a lightly-peated single malt whisky, plus gin. The basic tour takes one hour, adult £20, child £5. The shop and bar is open daily 10AM-11PM. They also have a restaurant and accommodation.

Sleep

Book early, Raasay's limited summer accommodation sells out as fast as Skye's. There's no organised campsite or caravan pitch.

• Allt Arais is a B&B half a mile south of the ferry pier.
• Raasay House, Clachan IV40 8PB (200 yards north of ferry pier), ☏ +44 1478 660300. This combines upmarket hotel rooms (dog-friendly) with basic hostel dorms and an outdoor activity centre. The bar and restaurant are open Tu-Sa and serve non-residents. B&B double £200. (updated Jun 2024)
• Isle of Raasay Distillery has rooms, B&B double £280.

Connect

Brochel Castle

As of June 2024, you get 4G from all UK carriers around the ferry pier at Inverarish, but the rest of the island is dead. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

The islands south and north of Raasay can't be reached from here. To the north, Rona is reached by occasional boat trips from Portree. To the south, Scalpay is a private deer-stalking estate and can't be visited. (Not to be confused with Scalpay on Harris.)

So to get anywhere else, you have to return on the ferry to Sconser on Skye.