Hallaig - Raasay

It was back in 1998 that I first climbed Dun Cann, the summit of Raasay. Looking south from the summit, I saw the ruins of a large village set on a grassy ledge, 300 feet above the sea. A look at the map told me it was Hallaig, but I knew nothing of its history at the time. It would take a few years, but I would eventually learn about the Raasay Bard Sorley Maclean, and his best-known poem, Hallaig.

The village of forty houses was cleared of its people by George Rainy in 1854. Sorley MacLean’s poem evokes the author’s memories of this place where some of his family had lived; a place once full of life, but dead for a hundred years when the poem was published. But it is not truly dead. Hallaig invokes the truth that the spirits of the people remain in the landscape and wildlife: in the birch, the rowan, the hazel, and the red deer sprinting across the slopes of Cnoc an Rà.

Na h-igheanan nan coille bheithe / The girls a wood of birch trees

Direch an druim, crom an ceann / Standing tall with their heads bowed

In the following photo, taken from the summit of Dun Caan, the green plateau of Hallaig can be seen just left of centre.

Also to be seen from the top of Dun Caan were the ruins of Screapadal, three miles to the north—the subject of another poem by Sorley Maclean: Screapadal. There you will find the ruins of forty homes split between the townships of North and South Screapadal, separated by the peaty, cascading waters of An Leth-allt—another village cleared by Rainy. 

Dh’fhag Rèanaidh Sgreapadal gun daoine, / Rainy left Screapadal without people,
gun taighean, gun chrodh ach caoraich, / with no houses or cattle, only sheep,
ach dh’fhàg e Sgreapadal bòidheach; / but he left Screapadal beautiful;
ra linn cha b’ urrainn dha a chaochladh. / in his time he could do nothing else.

Hallaig and Screapadal are places that must be seen, and there is no excuse not to, as both are easy, four-mile round trip hikes. That said, I cheated and got within less than a mile of Hallaig by boat. It was a couple of weeks ago, and the ship Hjalmar Bjorge had to shelter from a southerly gale. The bay below Hallaig, nestled by the hook-headland of Rudha na’ Leac, was the perfect spot. 

Once ashore, a steep climb of 300 feet led to the Hallaig footpath, where we encountered the Hallaig Memorial Cairn, with brass plaques inscribed with the poem in Gaelic and English.

The path quickly dropped down through woodland to cross the Hallaig stream, then climbed to a sloping, 250,000 square-foot enclosure: Hallaig’s most visible feature from a distance.

’s tha mo ghaol aig Allt Hallaig / And my love is a birch forever
’na craoibh bheithe, ’s bha i riamh / By Hallaig Stream, at her tryst

Above the enclosure lay the ruins of eighty structures, some still standing; most just the low, grass-grown foundations of circular and rectangular dwellings. Most of the houses lay on a fairly level, grassy plateau, overlooked by the mantled summit of Dun Caan.

Before returning to the ship I made my way to the high, north end of the village. It was a magnificent spot and the location of the most intact of the many ruins. I realized it was a shame I'd not taken the time to hike here in the past, and next time I am on Raasay I will make the walk to Screapadale via Raasay Wood.

Tha iad fhathast ann a Hallaig / They are still in Hallaig

Clann Ghill-Eain ’s Clann MhicLeòid / All the MacLeans and MacLeods
na bh’ ann ri linn Mhic Ghille Chaluim: / Who were there in the time of Mac Gille Chaluim:
chunnacas na mairbh beò. / The dead have been seen alive.

The Crosses of Raasay

One of the jewels of Rassay is its Pictish Symbol Stone. It lies in a small patch of ground east of the road north of Raasay House. The top of the stone has a square Chi-Rho cross that appears to be carved inside a Pictish mirror symbol. Below the cross is what's described as a tuning fork (or tongs), and at the bottom a crescent and V-Rod.

Raasay Symbol Stone

Although the symbol stone is easy to find, there was another Raasay cross, carved into the bedrock near the landing place below Raasay House, that I was only able to locate on my third visit to the island. I first read about this rock-carved cross in Boswell's Journal, where he mentions that 'on one of the rocks just where we landed...there is rudely drawn a square with a crucifix in the middle.'

On visits to Raasay in 1995 and 1998 I searched in vain for this cross. I walked back and forth all over 'The Battery', looking on every rock surface I could find. But I saw nothing that looked like a cross. The Battery is the little peninsula below Raasay house that was the main point for landing on the island before they built the ferry slip a mile and a half to the south.

These days the ferry lands at a new slip on The Battery, and on a visit last May I looked for the cross again. But this time I found it thanks to location details and photos on this CANMORE page. The cross lies just above the original landing place, on the southeast side of The Battery, where Boswell & Johnson landed in 1773. The cross is a sad sight, nearly completely worn away. So there is no way someone can find it without specific directions, and most everyone who arrives on Raasay these days drives (or walks) past the cross without even knowing it's there.

The cross is the same design as the mirror chi-rho cross on the symbol stone; and you can find a comparison drawing of the two crosses on the last page of Proc. Soc Antiq Scot Volume 41. Other good images can be found on page 64 of Proc. Soc Antiq Scot Vol 67, and on this Pictish Stones of Raasay page. Next time you are on Raasay be sure to pay your respect to this vestige of the past before it completely disappears.

The cross is on the exposed rock face at centre

Wanderings on Raasay - A Walk to Eilean Tighe

Two weeks ago I made a walk I'd wanted to do for many years. Back in 2007 Bill Cowie (of South Rona) sent me a copy of Julia Mackenzie's book Whirlygig Beetles and Tackety Boots, in which she describes her life on Eilean Tighe and at Kyle Rona. While at Kyle her father, Norman Cumming, was the postman who rowed to South Rona to deliver mail to the residents of Rona and the lightkeepers at its far, north end. The book is wonderful. And in it she tells her story during a walk from Arnish to Eilean Tighe. I wanted to make that walk myself, so two weeks ago my wife and I went to Raasay for a few days. The weather had been terrible for a week, but the day I'd set aside for the walk dawned with beautiful blue skies. And so I eagerly drove north to Brochel Castle, and then followed Calum's Road to Arnish.

The route to Eilean Tighe from Arnish

Start of Calum's Road from Brochel to Arnish

Brochel Castle

From the end of the road at Arnish I set out along the path to Torran Schoolhouse (now a self catering house).  As the sign shows, I had about 8 km to go. I had not studied the map very carefully, and what I thought was going to be an easy, level stroll, turned out to be five miles of ups and downs separated by stretches of soupy bog.

Start of the path at Arnish - five miles to go

A short way into the walk the path forked, the route to the left led to the tidal island of Fladda, but I took the route to Kyle Rona and Eilean Tighe, which headed uphill to the right.

Path Junction at Torran - left to Fladda, right (and uphill) to Kyle Rona and Eilean Tighe

A mile later I came to another junction, where the path to Fladda rejoins the one to Rona. It had been raining for a week, and this stretch was a swamp.

Swampy junction with the Fladda path - three miles to go to Eilean Tighe

After another mile of gradual climbing the path reached its highest point (700 feet) at Faireadh an Da Mhuir (view of the two seas), where you can see both coasts of Raasay. From there the descent was gradual for the most part, but there was a steep section down a narrow slot in the rocks called Bealach a' Chruidh (cattle gap). It had been paved with stones to keep it from turning into a slide; stones solidly packed underfoot by years of cattle (and people) passing through. 

The cobbled (sort of) path down Bealach a' Chruidh (cattle gap)

The steep end of Bealach a' Chruidh

Soon I rounded a corner and came to Taigh an Achaidh (the house of the field), also known as Kyle Rona House. The only photos I'd seen of the house were the ones in Julia Mackenzie's book, but the house has deteriorated a lot since then (the northern half of the roof has collapsed). Julia, on her walk to the house (in what I'm guessing was in the late '90s) was disappointed to see how it had been taken over by shepherds and used to store wool. She would be even more disappointed to see it today, as with the collapsed roof the interior is pretty much ruined.

An t-Achadh (the field) with Taigh an Achaidh

Kyle Rona House on the cover of Whirlygig Beetles and Tackety Boots (Julia Mackenzie)

Kyle Rona House (May 31, 2015)

From the house the path descended to the shore opposite Eilean Tighe. About halfway there it passed Taigh Thormoid Dhuibh, once the house of Norman Mackenzie. It was a ruin when Julia Mackenzie passed by, but since then it has been fixed up into a very nice bothy.

Taigh Thormoid Dhuibh bothy

Inside the bothy

I had been to the bothy once before, back in 2007, when I'd been landed here during a day-trip from Rona. On that occasion I did not know about the bothy, and it was a truly welcome discovery. I was drenched from walking in heavy rain and was able to dry off.  (See the November 29, 2013 post for the story of that walk.)

A wet hiker in Taigh Thormoid Dhuibh - 2007

The path ended a half mile north of the bothy at a landing place for small boats. From there a vague trail led me 500 feet west to the narrowest part of the tidal channel that separates Raasay from Eilean Tighe.

Eilean Tighe

The walk had been timed to arrive at lowest tide, and the only challenge getting across was finding a place to get down to the shore. There I came across the remnants of An Stairean, a causeway of boulders that may have once allowed crossing at all but the highest of tides. It was extremely uneven, and the last bit, just before it reached Eilean Tighe, has washed away. But I did not need to use it. The tide was low, and it was an easy (but slippery) walk across the seaweed covered channel.

The crossing to Eilean Tighe at low tide

What's left of An Stairean - a small causeway to Eilean Tighe

Once on Eilean Tighe I followed the coastline north to the ruin of the house where Julia Mackenzie had been born in 1923. Her family lived here until they moved to Kyle Rona House when she was nine-years-old. It must have been an amazing childhood, growing up in this wonderful setting.

The main house on Eilean Tighe

It was almost time to start back, but I wanted to end the walk at the highest point of Eilean Tighe, so I carried on until I found an easy route to the top. The view was amazing: Raasay lay spread out to the south, and to the north I could see much of South Rona. Directly across the water, a kilometer to the northeast, was Rona's An Teampull, a beautiful little chapel that I've hiked to several times over the years.

Looking south to Kyle Rona from the top of Eilean Tighe

The chapel of An Teampull (South Rona) seen from the summit of Eilean Tighe (zoom)

From the top of Eilean Tighe I enjoyed the view for a while, along with a beer. When the time came to leave, worried about the tide, I hurried to the crossing. But I need not have worried, as the tide was still low. The views were completely different as I walked back to Arnish, and I enjoyed the return trip as much as the walk out. 

If you are looking for a wonderful hike I can recommend no better day out than the trek to Eilean Tighe. But be sure to read Julia Mackenzie's book first (which you can get here or maybe here); then get yourself to Raasay, check out the tides, put on some sturdy waterproof boots, and do it!

Wanderings on Raasay - Kyles Rona & Eilean Tighe

After a week on Berneray (North Uist), my wife and I spent last week on Lewis. The time flew, and so I was not able to post on the walks and boat trips I did there. One walk I made was a spectacular overnight hike from Morsgail to Cliet Fhidigidh, then up past Loch Grunavat to Carinish. Along the way I visited a dozen shieling sites and several beehive cells, including Bothan Ruadh, which I believe is the most remote beehive cell on Lewis. Another exiting day was a boat trip to the tiny island of Eilean Fir Chrothair to see its little beehive cell. I also spent some time in the Mangersta bothy; a hobbit house of sorts hidden in a nook high atop the cliffs of Mangersta. I will post on all these once I get back home.

We're on Raasay now for a few days. Today I hiked from Arnish to Kyles Rona, and then crossed over to the tidal isle of Eilean Tighe. I will also post more on this when I get home, including some photos of Kyles Rona House and the house on Eilean Tighe, both once home to Julia Mackenzie, who writes about living in them in her book Whirligig Beetles and Tackety Boots. Until then, here are a few photos from the walk; one of the best on Raasay, which starts at the end of Calum's Road to Arnish.

Calum's Road

Start of the walk to Eilean Tighe

Looking north from Kyles to Eilean Tighe

The crossing to Eilean Tighe at low tide - with what's left of an old causeway

Looking south to Kyles (north end of Raasay) from atop Eilean Tighe - the tidal gap can just be seen in the centre

South Rona seen from atop Eilean Tighe - Big Harbour at the far left

MV Ocean Unity and a Surprise Visit to South Rona - 1995

A while back I posted on the various boats that have taken me on memorable island visits. (Click on the 'boats' link on the list of labels). I just came across some photos of another boat I've been on; one that took me on my first 'community' boat trip: MV Ocean Unity.

MV Ocean Unity - 1995

That trip happened during a visit to Raasay in 1995. My wife and I were the only ones staying at the Isle of Raasay Hotel and, as it turned out, a family reunion was happening on nearby South Rona. The family of Donald and Fiona Macalman, the Rona island managers at the time, had arranged for a boat to take them to Rona. The staff and owners of the hotel also wanted to go, and instead of abandoning their only guests in an empty hotel, they invited my wife and I to come along.

And so a caravan of six cars drove from the Isle of Raasay Hotel up to Arnish. We hiked down to the shore, where we were taken out to MV Ocean Unity, a 9 metre, steel hulled fishing boat, with a heavy-duty crane at its stern. On the way to Rona we stopped to fling fistfuls of fragrant fish feed (say that 10 times in a row) into a fish pen; it was tiring work, work that automatic feeders do these days. Once we reached Rona we were taken ashore in a large metal boat, appropriately named 'Tin Can'.

Below are a few grainy photos from that day in 1995. It was an amazing experience. For the full story, and how it led to a return visit nine years later, see chapter 5 of book 2. As of 2013 Ocean Unity was working mussel farms in the Western Isles.

Afloat off Arnish - my wife standing behind the wheelhouse

'Tin Can' departs from Ocean Unity in Big Harbour- 'Tin Can' was the Rona landing boat

Fiona and Donald Macalman at Rona Lodge

Return to Arnish

The Mermaids of Raasay

The mermaids of Raasay, which date to the 1840s, were originally intended to sit astride the entrance to Raasay House. But they turned out to be too heavy, so they were left on the battery at Clachan. Their expense, along with alterations to Raasay House, helped bankrupt the last MacLeod of Raasay, who was forced to sell out and emigrate in 1846. Clachan has seen a lot of changes since I took these photos in 1995. It is now where the car ferry from Skye lands, and so these not particularly attractive mermaids now greet everyone who visits Raasay.

Mermaid #1 (Raasay House in the distance)

Mermaid #2