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Isle of Skye

Calum's Road

Almost two miles of road from Brochel to Arnish on Raasay, built by one man with a wheelbarrow.

Welcome

In 1931 the families of northern Raasay asked the council for a road, and were refused.

One by one they left, until by the late 1960s only Calum MacLeod and his wife, Lexie, were still living at Arnish. So Calum built the road himself. With a pick, an axe, a shovel and a homemade wooden wheelbarrow, he cut almost two miles through birch, bracken, bog and rock from Brochel Castle to his own door.

It took him about ten years, from 1964 to 1974, after the Department of Agriculture paid for the first blasting. In 1982 the council adopted it and laid tarmac on the lines he had made, and the next year he was given the British Empire Medal. Today the road winds north from the castle past passing places and sheep, the Sound of Raasay below. Drive it slowly, or better, walk or cycle it, and think of the man who dug nearly every yard.

Before you go

The road starts at Brochel Castle, about seven miles north of the ferry on a single-track road, and runs almost two miles to Arnish.

Getting there
The ferry from Sconser on Skye to Raasay takes 25 minutes.
On the road
Walk, cycle or drive. It is narrow and winding, with passing places, and the surface can be potholed, so go carefully.
Passing places
Twenty of them, from Brochel to Arnish.

Did you know

A sign reading 'Rathad Chaluim, Calum's Road' stands beside a winding hill road where sheep graze.
Did you know

A road the council refused.

In 1931 about 100 people in the north of Raasay asked Inverness County Council for a road, and were turned down. By the late 1960s only two of them were left: Calum MacLeod and his wife, Lexie.

A single-track road winds through rocky moorland toward the coast.
Did you know

A pick, an axe, a shovel and a lunchbox.

On a spring morning in the 1960s Calum loaded his homemade wooden wheelbarrow with a pick, an axe, a shovel and a lunchbox, walked to the end of the council road at Brochel, turned for home and began.

Three sheep stand on a misty grassy hillside.
Did you know

About ten years' work.

The road took him about ten years, from 1964 to 1974, and paid him nothing. In 1982 the council at Inverness surveyed it, adopted it and laid tarmac on it, just as he had built it.

Three sheep graze on a grassy, rock-strewn hillside.
Did you know

Like an autobahn.

When the council took the road on, Calum was pleased. It would be like an autobahn when they had finished, he said, and they had not had to change an inch of his lines.

A misty moorland hillside rises above rough grazing land marked with faint paths.
Did you know

A medal for the lighthouse.

In 1983 Calum was awarded the British Empire Medal. The citation was for keeping up the supplies to the Rona light, but, as Roger Hutchinson put it, the whole world knew it was for the road.

Graeme Johncock

The two-mile long Calum’s Road connecting the northern communities of Raasay was built almost single-handedly by crofter Calum MacLeod after the local authority refused to finance it.

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Three sheep stand together on a hillside beneath an overcast sky.
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Where it is

In the north of Raasay, from Brochel Castle to Arnish, about seven miles from the ferry.

Close byThe places nearest the road, on Raasay.
  1. Brochel CastleBrochel CastleThe MacLeods of Raasay's castle on a stack of rock, where the road begins.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. RaasayRaasayThe island itself, 25 minutes by ferry from Sconser, home to around 160 people.5 miles 6 min by road
  3. Weathered granite stone marker with a faint carved cross designPictish StoneA carved early Christian stone, found near the harbour in 1800.8 miles 11 min by road
  4. Temptation HillTemptation HillA short, sharp climb with views across the Sound of Raasay to Skye.8 miles 11 min by road
  5. Raasay Walled GardenRaasay Walled GardenThe old kitchen garden of Raasay House, restored by the island community and open every day, free.9 miles 11 min by road
  6. St Moluag's ChapelSt Moluag's ChapelThe roofless walls of a chapel from the 1200s, in a graveyard behind Raasay House.9 miles 11 min by road
  7. Isle of Raasay DistilleryIsle of Raasay DistilleryA distillery with rooms of its own, a short walk from the ferry.9 miles 12 min by road
Directions
The stair hall of Raasay Gallery hung with paintings to the ceiling, a large canvas of a green island standing on an easel.AttractionsRaasay Gallery8.5 miles
Calum and Leonie with Daisy the dog.ShoppingThe Exchange8.7 miles
Round table and chairs by a bay window overlooking a loch and hillsRaasayRaasay House HotelPlace to stay · 8.8 miles
Lichen-covered stone sphinx statue overlooking a manor house and hillsideAttractionsRaasay Battery Cannon and Mermaids8.9 miles
Wooden pier with metal railings leads towards mountains under cloudy skiesAttractionsIronstone Mine at the Old Pier8.9 miles
A walker on the old grassy track above the east coast of Raasay, birch scrub crowding the path.WalksHallaig11 miles
A river winds through moorland with a white cottage below misty hillsSligachanSligachan CampsitePlace to stay · 16 miles
The Daily for 18 October, from Scotland with love. Golden-hour light catches a shadowed mountain above a loch, rust-coloured moorland in the foreground

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the road, and when each is next free.

Colourful houses line Portree harbour beneath misty, tree-covered hillside, with boats moored offshoreCuillin Hills Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Portree
  • 6 miles from Calum's Road
Check datesBedside lamp lit above a round table with tissue box, orange cushion on white pillowsThe Bosville
  • A hotel
  • In Portree
  • 6 miles from Calum's Road
Check datesRound table and chairs by a bay window overlooking a loch and hillsRaasay House Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Raasay
  • 7 miles from Calum's Road
Check datesAttic bedroom with white panelled walls, double bed and framed floral printThe Crofter's House
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Camustianavaig
  • 7 miles from Calum's Road
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay on SkyeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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