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Isle of Skye

Raasay Walled Garden

The old kitchen garden of Raasay House, restored by the island community and open every day, free.

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Welcome

"Welcome: please close the gate to keep the rabbits out." So says the sign at the entrance to Raasay's walled garden, on the slope behind Raasay House.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

For generations it fed the big house; then it fell silent for years, until the islanders took it on and brought it back to life.

Today it is a working kitchen garden again, grown by organic methods, with polytunnels full of tomatoes and marigolds, raised beds, cold frames, an orchard and community allotments, and roses round a circular lawn. Wander the grass paths between the beds, sit a while under the trees in the orchard, and look back over the roofs of Raasay House to the Sound and the hills of Skye. Come on harvest day if you can, when salad, vegetables, herbs and cut flowers, all grown a few steps away, go out by the gate for anyone to buy.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Before you go

Open every day of the year and free to enter, with donations welcome.

Harvest day is Wednesday.

Where
Behind Raasay House, a 5 to 10 minute walk from the ferry; park on the road by the gates.
Harvest
Wednesdays from 11am, on an honesty stall: pay by cash or card. Every penny goes back into the garden.
Paths
Grass, with steep slopes in places.
Dogs
Welcome on leads.
There
A toilet and picnic benches in the orchard.

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Did you know

A cluster of ripening tomatoes hangs from a vine in a polytunnel.
Did you know

Gooseberries for Boswell.

When James Boswell stayed at Raasay House in 1773 he found a good garden, well stocked with kitchen stuff, gooseberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries and apple trees.

Raised brick flowerbeds and a small greenhouse sit against a walled garden with a cottage chimney smoking beyond.
Did you know

Drawn in 1815.

A drawing by Daniell in 1815 shows Raasay House from the north, with this walled garden in the foreground and Skye behind.

A battered metal kettle hangs from a rafter in a greenhouse.
Did you know

The ghost of a glasshouse.

The north wall is lined with brick and set with the remains of glasshouses and cold frames. An ornamental glasshouse once stood at its centre, on the garden's main line.

Rose beds fill a circular lawn before a brick wall and a slate-roofed cottage.
Did you know

Outstanding, officially.

The garden holds Level 5, Outstanding, and a Certificate of Distinction in the Royal Horticultural Society's It's Your Neighbourhood awards.

Trailing tomato vines and marigolds fill a wooden raised bed inside a polytunnel.
Did you know

Run by the island.

The garden belongs to the community. Volunteers from the Raasay House Community Company look after it, and part of the rent from Raasay House goes to keep it growing.

Ripening tomatoes hang above marigolds in a misted polytunnel.
Did you know

A dancing heron fountain.

In the dell south-east of the house is a Victorian iron fountain shaped like an upturned flower, with herons dancing in its bowl. Raasay Primary School got it working again in 1998.

Polytunnels stand in a walled garden before a row of stone cottages with tall chimneys.
What is on

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New places, news and stories, as we find them.

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Where it is

On the rising ground behind Raasay House, in the south of Raasay.

Close byThe places nearest the garden, on Raasay.
  1. St Moluag's ChapelSt Moluag's ChapelThe roofless walls of a chapel from the 1200s, in a graveyard behind Raasay House.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Pictish StonePictish StoneA standing stone carved with Pictish symbols and a cross, at the foot of Temptation Hill.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Temptation HillTemptation HillA short, sharp climb with views across the Sound of Raasay to Skye.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. The ExchangeThe ExchangeA tiny gallery in an old telephone exchange, footsteps from the ferry.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Raasay Battery Cannon and MermaidsRaasay Battery Cannon and MermaidsA walled battery mound by the old jetty below Raasay House, with cannon and two stone mermaids.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Isle of Raasay DistilleryIsle of Raasay DistilleryRaasay's first legal distillery, opened in 2017 in a Victorian villa looking across the Sound to Skye.Under a mile 1 min by road
  7. Ironstone Mine at the Old PierIronstone Mine at the Old PierThe concrete ruins of a First World War iron mine, worked by German prisoners of war.Under a mile 1 min by road
  8. RaasayRaasayThe island between Skye and Applecross, 25 minutes by ferry from Sconser.4 miles 5 min by road
Directions
Round table and chairs by a bay window overlooking a loch and hillsRaasayRaasay House HotelPlace to stay · 0.2 miles
The stair hall of Raasay Gallery hung with paintings to the ceiling, a large canvas of a green island standing on an easel.AttractionsRaasay Gallery0.9 miles
A walker on the old grassy track above the east coast of Raasay, birch scrub crowding the path.WalksHallaig3.4 miles
Rust-coloured moorland grasses rise towards a rocky, mist-covered hillsideAttractionsCalum's Road8.5 miles
Ruined stone tower atop a rocky, moss-covered outcrop under grey skiesAttractionsBrochel Castle8.6 miles
Red-roofed building with grey cladding and picnic tables outside on gravel car parkCafeCafé Cùil13 miles
A pool table under low lamps in the Gabbro Bar, a ball about to be struck.BarsThe Gabbro Bar17 miles
Shopfront sign for The Selkie Collective, advertising ethical, sustainable products and giftsShoppingThe Selkie Collective17 miles
A freestanding bath stands on a decked platform beside a red timber shed, potted plants and a wooden fence surrounding the garden.BroadfordPtarmigan CottageSleeps 2 · 18 miles

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Stay nearby

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

Round table and chairs by a bay window overlooking a loch and hillsRaasay House Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Raasay
  • Under a mile from the garden
Check datesAttic bedroom with white panelled walls, double bed and framed floral printThe Crofter's House
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Camustianavaig
  • 3 miles from the garden
Check datesA white house sits beside a stone bridge over a river, misty mountains rising behind.Sligachan Campsite
  • To stay
  • In Sligachan
  • 6 miles from the garden
Check datesWood-burning stove alight beside floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a hillside pathSligachan Blackhouses
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Sligachan
  • 6 miles from the garden
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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