Calums Road

Walk, drive or cycle to the far north of the Isle of Raasay and eventually, you’ll come to one of the most famous roads in Scotland. This is far more than just another single-lane track though, Calum’s Road is a lasting symbol of one man’s endless grit and determination. 

For most of the 20th century, Brochel was the end of the road on Raasay, even though several communities lived further north. After their petition to the local council to fund a new road was denied, the population steadily began to move away. 

That’s when one of the last remaining inhabitants, tired of walking between Brochel and his home in Arnish, decided to do something about it. One day, with nothing more than a pick, shovel and wheelbarrow, Calum Macleod began to build a road. 

Calum’s dedication to his passion project would take up most of the next two decades. Amazingly, he managed to do it all while continuing to work his regular jobs as a postman, lighthouse keeper and crofter. While government engineers contributed to some initial blasting work, the only other help Calum had came from an old road building and maintenance manual he had bought. 

An old, narrow track already existed, but transforming that into a navigable road wasn’t an easy task. It was a painstaking project that few would have taken on as a paid job, never mind volunteer. 

It was around two miles between Brochel and Arnish and while that doesn’t sound far, the terrain was dangerously treacherous. There were perilously steep climbs, rocky outcrops to avoid, cliffs to skirt and boggy moorland to cross. 

None of those features could stand in the way of the unstoppable force of Calum Macleod. Eventually, it was suitable for him to traverse in his trusty Land Rover, although he never went any further than the end of it. Surprisingly for a man so intent on building a road, Calum never had a driver’s licence. 

The council finally adopted and surfaced the road in 1982, but the amazing story of the crofter who created it would never be forgotten. This wee stretch of tarmac on Raasay would forever be known as Calum’s Road.