Hallaig – The Cleared Township of Sorley MacLean's Poem
A few hours.
The route
Hallaig was probably the largest township on Raasay until its people were cleared in the nineteenth century.
Sorley MacLean, who was born on the island, made it the subject of his best-known poem, and the poem is cut into a cairn on the old track in. The track starts at the road end at North Fearns, on the far side of the island from the pier, so this is a day for taking the car over on the ferry from Sconser.
- Time
- About an hour and a half to Sorley MacLean's cairn and back, 2.2 km each way on a level grassy track; two hours or more and 6.5 km if you go on to the ruined township, over rough ground with no clear path.
- Where to start
- The lay-by at the end of the public road at North Fearns.
- Set off
- Off a morning boat, with an afternoon boat back in mind.
- When to go
- All year, by the ferry's timetable: in winter the last boat back is 6pm from Monday to Saturday and 4.30pm on Sundays. No boats on 25 December or 1 January.
- Dogs
- On a lead: sheep graze here.
- Children
- The track runs high above the sea, with steep slopes below it.
- Toilets
- None on the walk; the nearest are at Raasay's ferry terminal.
- Before you set out
- A broad grassy track, level, wet in places, with two small landslips. Beyond the cairn the ground is rough and pathless.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Hallaig
Over on the Raasay ferry with the car, across the island to the road end at North Fearns, and along a grassy track above the sea to the cairn that carries Sorley MacLean's Hallaig.
About three and a half hours from Sconser, with both crossings
The ferry from Sconser to Raasay
The Raasay ferry leaves from the slip at Sconser, on the A87 beside Loch Sligachan. Take the car over, as the walk starts on the far side of the island and Raasay has no bus. Fill the tank first, because there's no petrol on the island. No sailing can be booked: buy a ticket online before you travel, and be in the car lane at least 10 minutes before the boat sails. In summer 2026 a car was £17.50 return and an adult £5.30 return. The crossing takes 25 minutes. CalMac's winter timetable runs from Monday 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027, and until then the summer one applies, so read the timetable on CalMac's Sconser to Raasay page before you set out. In winter the morning boats leave Sconser at 8.25am, 9.25am, 10.25am and 11.30am from Monday to Saturday, and the only morning boat on a Sunday is at 10.30am. Check the service status on the day as well, as wind can stop the boat. There are public toilets at Raasay's ferry terminal.
9 min by car
Hallaig
A walk
From the pier it's 9 minutes' drive on single-track road, past Inverarish, to the end of the public road at North Fearns, where there's a lay-by to park in. An old grassy track, built as the road to Hallaig, runs north from there, high above the Inner Sound, with the Crowlin Islands and the Applecross hills across the water. It's level and easy, wet in places, and in good repair but for two small landslips. After 2.2 km it comes to the cairn to Sorley MacLean, who was born at Oskaig on Raasay in 1911 and died in 1996. He wrote Hallaig in 1952, and the cairn carries the poem in his Gaelic and in his own English. To the cairn and back is about an hour and a half. The township lies beyond it on green terraces under the cliffs, with Dun Caan above: the ruins of some 44 houses, cleared soon after George Rainy bought the island in 1846. Reaching them means rough ground through birch scrub with no clear path, and makes the walk 6.5 km and two hours or more. Sheep graze here, so keep dogs on a lead. From late October bring food and a flask. The island's places to eat keep shorter winter hours, and none should be counted on without ringing first.
About 5 min by car
The ferry from Raasay to Sconser
The pier is 9 minutes away by car. On the winter timetable, from 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027, boats leave Raasay for Sconser at 12.15pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm, 5pm and 6pm from Monday to Saturday. The 6pm is the last, except on a Saturday, when a 7.30pm boat runs only if you telephone CalMac on 0800 066 5000 by noon that day. On Sundays there are three boats back, at 10am, 12.15pm and 4.30pm, and the 4.30pm is the last. The 9.25am boat over and the 12.15pm back fit the walk to the cairn. The 10.25am over and the 2.30pm back leave time for the township as well. On a Sunday it's the 10.30am over and the 4.30pm back. No boats run on 25 December or 1 January. Miss the last boat and nothing sails until the next morning. Be in the car lane at the pier 10 minutes before the boat. Until 18 October the summer timetable applies, so check CalMac's page.
If it rains
The track is level but open to the east, with no shelter between the road end and the cairn, and it's wet underfoot after rain. Wind, more than rain, is what stops the ferry: check CalMac's service status for Sconser to Raasay before you set out.
For further reading, before you go.
Photographs by Thomas Coles and Rob Walker via Google