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Raasay is a good place for cycling – as long as you don’t mind lots of hills. The roads are narrow but in fairly good condition and there’s hardly any traffic on them, meaning you can set off and lose yourself in the scenery in total peace and quiet. This grand hotel was built in the 1740s as the home of the MacLeod Chief of Raasay, but it’s now privately run as the island’s biggest attraction.
Raasay’s roads are in generally good condition (for a west coast island) but they’re as prone to the weather as anywhere else in Scotland, so expect lots of potholes. They’re also very narrow with few passing spaces – which is another reason to choose a mountain bike over a car during a visit. Raasay Distillery Visit: Explore the Isle of Raasay’s first legal Scotch whisky distillery. Enjoy a guided tour and learn about the distillation process and the history of ‘the water of life’ on Raasay. It’s the perfect destination for whisky enthusiasts. Raasay House is a much bigger place than you’d expect to find on such a small island and it’s surprisingly luxurious, with a very nice dining room, friendly staff, and delicious food.
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The only negative I have about cycling on Raasay is that it’s a surprisingly hilly island and unless you’re travelling along the lower coastal road you’ll find yourself puffing away up steep inclines for the majority of the journey. Join a whisky distillery tour and learn our innovative whisky making process and philosophy. As you pass the all-important copper pot stills, you will catch sight of the incredible view across to The Isle of Skye, arguably the best from any Scottish distillery. There’s a narrow 3-mile beach on the southern edge of Raasay that offers a lovely walk with views of Skye, Scalpay, and the Applecross Peninsula. To get to it, take the road south from the ferry terminal past the distillery and follow it around the coastline for 3 miles (keeping the sea on your right-hand side). The start of the beach has a couple of parking spaces on the grass on either side of the road. Hiking on Dun Caan: The highest point on Raasay, Dun Caan, is an extraordinary flat-topped hill that provides breathtaking panoramic views of the Cuillins on Skye and the Applecross Peninsula on mainland Scotland. Climbing Dun Caan is a truly amazing adventure for anyone who loves the great outdoors. Meanwhile, anyone who prefers getting active will have a great time kayaking around the island’s secluded bays or romping across the wild moorland that covers the majority of its centre, and that’s before they’ve hiked to the summit of the 440-metre Dun Caan or taken a boat trip out to nearby Rona.
The Isle of Raasay Distillery welcomes visitors from around the globe with any level of whisky knowledge, from the curious to the connoisseur. Enjoy a guided whisky tasting tour through the distillery and into the tasting room, where you’ll be offered a complementary dram of Isle of Raasay Single Malt Scotch Whisky or Isle of Raasay Gin. I have to say, I loved every minute of my time on Raasay and I recommend the itinerary I’ve mentioned here to anyone who wants to make the most of a day on this amazing wee island. Having spent a lot of time on the Isle of Skye I usually look for new places to explore whenever I return, and Raasay has for a long time been at the top of my ‘must-do’ list. In fact, the landscape is so varied that Raasay has become something of a Mecca for geologists worldwide and it has been said that the island is one of the most geologically diverse on the planet.There are no other points of interest to comment about this part of Raasay, but 3.5 miles past Clachan you’ll find a parking area that allows access to the summit of the island’s highest point at Dun Caan.
The distillery runs organized tours as well as tasting sessions, but my main intention was to reserve a bottle of their highly recommended gin and single malt whisky for later collection. The bottle shape and contemporary colours reflect our modern island distillery, and the textured lettering, ‘liquified’ images and silhouette views of the mountains, including Dun Caan/Dùn Cana, echo the contours and horizons of the island and its surroundings. A fusion of tradition with contemporary design.
If you’re staying for longer, I recommend continuing past Calum’s Road and walking along the footpath that ends at the far north of Raasay near the Taigh Thormoid Dhuibh bothy. The views along this route are spectacular. Tourist Information As an alternative option, Raasay House organizes RIB tours out to Rona with expert guides leading the way which might be preferable to kayaking solo. Still, if you’re of reasonable fitness I guarantee you’ll enjoy the ride and the views across the water to Skye are nothing short of breathtaking.
Recently, I spent a week in the area around Kyle of Lochalsh and decided it would be a good time to book a ferry from Sconser to see what this remote island is all about. Breakfast munched, coffee slurped and route planned, I set off to the next stop which was the newly-opened Raasay Distillery. Exploring Calum’s Road: Visit Calum’s Road, a testament to one man’s determination. Calum Macleod built this 1.5-mile road by hand over the course of a decade. Walk along the road and admire the scenery while appreciating the amount of hard work that went into creating this extraordinary strip of tarmac.Combine a visit to Raasay House with a tour of Raasay Distillery which is just over 1/3 of a mile away – perfect for sampling a few drams without having to drive. Visiting Tips
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