Isle of Raasay Scottish Dry Gin | 46% ABV, 70 CL | Distilled On Scottish Isle of Raasay

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Discover wonderful wildlife tours to book and experience in Scotland, including bird watching safaris, whale watching, farm tours and much more! For day-trippers, there are a handful of destinations to choose from, with the highlights being Raasay House, Raasay Distillery, and Calum’s Road, but in my opinion, the best way to enjoy the island is to just set off on foot – or two wheels – and bathe in the peaceful off-the-grid experience. The wee isle of Eilean Tigh is immediately to the north and the isle of Rona looks like an easy paddle in a kayak – although by all accounts the currents between the two islands are very strong. The lower coastal road on the west side of the island is relatively flat and offers stunning views of Skye. The only negative I have about cycling on Raasay is that it’s a surprisingly hilly island and unless you’re travelling along the lower coastal road you’ll find yourself puffing away up steep inclines for the majority of the journey.

This grand hotel was built in the 1740s as the home of the MacLeod Chief of Raasay, but it’s now privately run as the island’s biggest attraction. Raasay is a good place for cycling – as long as you don’t mind lots of hills. The roads are narrow but in fairly good condition and there’s hardly any traffic on them, meaning you can set off and lose yourself in the scenery in total peace and quiet.Raasay Distillery Visit: Explore the Isle of Raasay’s first legal Scotch whisky distillery. Enjoy a guided tour and learn about the distillation process and the history of ‘the water of life’ on Raasay. It’s the perfect destination for whisky enthusiasts. There’s a narrow 3-mile beach on the southern edge of Raasay that offers a lovely walk with views of Skye, Scalpay, and the Applecross Peninsula. To get to it, take the road south from the ferry terminal past the distillery and follow it around the coastline for 3 miles (keeping the sea on your right-hand side). The start of the beach has a couple of parking spaces on the grass on either side of the road. The main reason for taking this detour wasn’t to see the ruin, but to whip out my binoculars (see my guide to recommended budget binoculars) and look for marine wildlife as this part of Raasay is renowned as a favourite spot for grey seals. The bottle shape and contemporary colours reflect our modern island distillery, and the textured lettering, ‘liquified’ images and silhouette views of the mountains, including Dun Caan/Dùn Cana, echo the contours and horizons of the island and its surroundings. A fusion of tradition with contemporary design.

Exploring Calum’s Road: Visit Calum’s Road, a testament to one man’s determination. Calum Macleod built this 1.5-mile road by hand over the course of a decade. Walk along the road and admire the scenery while appreciating the amount of hard work that went into creating this extraordinary strip of tarmac. The Isle of Raasay is located off the east coast of Scotland. To get there, you can take a ferry from the village of Sconser on the Isle of Skye, operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, which takes around 25 minutes. Combine a visit to Raasay House with a tour of Raasay Distillery which is just over 1/3 of a mile away – perfect for sampling a few drams without having to drive. Visiting Tips I have to say, I loved every minute of my time on Raasay and I recommend the itinerary I’ve mentioned here to anyone who wants to make the most of a day on this amazing wee island.

Isle of Raasay Gin

Meanwhile, anyone who prefers getting active will have a great time kayaking around the island’s secluded bays or romping across the wild moorland that covers the majority of its centre, and that’s before they’ve hiked to the summit of the 440-metre Dun Caan or taken a boat trip out to nearby Rona. If you’re visiting the Isle of Raasay for an afternoon I suggest either of two itineraries. The first is to walk north and climb Dun Caan, and the second is to cycle to Calum’s Road and Brochel Castle.

That’s a real shame as this is a small island that punches well above its weight when it comes to scenery, and it’s the best place to view the dramatic Cuillin mountains on Skye and the rugged Torridon Hills on the mainland. The Isle of Raasay Distillery welcomes visitors from around the globe with any level of whisky knowledge, from the curious to the connoisseur. Enjoy a guided whisky tasting tour through the distillery and into the tasting room, where you’ll be offered a complementary dram of Isle of Raasay Single Malt Scotch Whisky or Isle of Raasay Gin. The majority of the houses on the island are located around Churchton Bay near the ferry terminal which is also the location of the community store. At just 24 square miles, Raasay is nowhere near as big as the Isle of Skye but it has a much smaller population and far fewer tourists, meaning you can explore it from top to bottom (14 miles) and side to side (5 miles) in almost guaranteed peace and quiet. Join a whisky distillery tour and learn our innovative whisky making process and philosophy. As you pass the all-important copper pot stills, you will catch sight of the incredible view across to The Isle of Skye, arguably the best from any Scottish distillery.

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As a top tip, if you walk half a mile down the road away from the castle you’ll find a footpath that leads to another secluded beach that’s also a well-used resting place for seals.

The distillery appears to have gone all-out to cater to tourists and there’s a very nice bar and shop in the main visitor centre alongside an outdoor seating area with stunning views over the Sound of Raasay. When it comes to accommodation in Scotland, there's a fantastic choice of amazing stays from luxury hotels to glamping getaways. From the ferry terminal it’s a 5-minute cycle ride to Raasay House which I’d decided would be an ideal place to grab breakfast while examining my OS Map #24 of Raasay (link to the OS Maps shop).There are no other points of interest to comment about this part of Raasay, but 3.5 miles past Clachan you’ll find a parking area that allows access to the summit of the island’s highest point at Dun Caan.