Raasay is a hidden gem in more ways than one. Geographically, it sits in the lee of its mighty neighbour, Skye. It is only about 12 miles long and has a population now of some 140 to 150 (though back in the day before the Clearances it was several hundreds) and is of significant geological interest, with most of the south of the island formed of Torridonian sandstone, the north of Lewisian gneiss.
And of course there is the poetry. One of the most important poets of the twentieth century, Sorley MacLean, was born and grew up here and, with his four brothers and two sisters, would recite poetry in Gaelic in the township of Osgaig (also written as Oskaig). Verses from his most well-known poem ‘Hallaig’ are inscribed on a plaque mounted on a cairn overlooking the deserted village of Hallaig. Like so many other villages and townships, this was abandoned during the nineteenth-century Clearances and the homes broken up. Much of the stone from these houses was used to build sheep enclosures and fanks for the many sheep that soon replaced the humans on the south of the island. The people were either sent to the barren grounds at the north of the island, or forced to emigrate. There are tales of the sound of mothers’ weeping being heard across the sea from Raasay as the ships containing their sons and daughters set sail from Portree to Canada.
