Day 10 Raasay
I started the day with an early planned 4 mile run. It was cloudy but dry until I was very near the end, then the rain started. It rained off an on for the next couple of hours before drying up and we had quite a few sunny spells throughout the rest of the day.
Today we took the 9:25 ferry to Raasay, an island off the east coast of Skye. We had to get tickets in advance but could just turn up for any departure. There were only 6 vehicles and at least 3 of those were locals. It was driving rain on the way over but stopped shortly after getting there. It was lovely to get away from the hoards of tourists that we have encountered since arriving.
Raasay is known for 2 historic events. Firstly during WWI, 2 Iron Ore mines were opened to help with the war effort. Also a train line was built to transport the Iron Ore to the harbour. This work was done by the Raasay residents along with 260 German prisoners of war. The mines were closed after the war as the quality of iron ore was not good and it was no longer needed.
Secondly, it is known for a man called Malcolm MacLeod, more commonly called Calum. While researching things to do in Skye, I found there was a ferry to nearby Raasay and saw recommendations to read a book called "Calums Road". In the early to mid 19th century Raasay and nearby islands had quite a large population of mainly crofters who farmed the land. The southern end of the island was very fertile and all crops were grown there. They lived happily until the 1850s when the land was bought by rich landowners who had large houses built for themselves and commanded the fertile land in the south for their own sheep runs and deer parks. Crofters in the south were forcibly moved out of their homes and the population in each little hamlet dwindled to zero by the 1881 census. Some went to Skye, Canada or Australia but a few families chose to stay but had to move to the north which is not as fertile and already had a sustainable populaton. When motor transport came along, roads were built as far as Brochel, in the centre of the island but there was only a path from their to Arnish and on to the islands of Flodder and R?? where the victims of the clearings were living. They constantly had requests for a road to be built turned down by the council. Families gradually left their homes as they could not make a living. Malcolm 'Calum' MacLeod (1911-1988) who lived in Arnish, decided that if the Council would not build a road then he would. It took him 10 years but he single handedly built a road across very difficult terrain for 1 3/4 miles to link Arnish with Brochel which could be traversed by a land rover. He did this without any power tools and just had a wheelbarrow, pickaxe and shovels and his own hands. He completed this shortly before he died and had been awarded the British Empire Medal in 1983.
Today we drove drove to Brochel and then on to Arnish, covering the length of Calums road.
.jpg)
I then walked to the next village of Torrin which was about half a mile away. It was a difficult walk up and down some very rough paths. To my surprise there were 2 very well kept properties there. One was certainly lived in. There are no roads so the only way of getting supplies and materials there can only be by sea or by quad bike the terrain looked too difficult for them.
.jpg)
.jpg)
When we got back we had tea and cake in Raasay House, a big country house that originally belonged to the MacLeod clan chief. We had a look around Inverarish, the biggest community on the island before getting the ferry back. There were only 4 cars on the return journey.
We cooked our meal and went for a walk around Broadford before an early night.
.jpg){kind=link}
Comments
Post a Comment