The Heavenly – Raasay Island, Scotland – TravellDreamer | Best Treval Blogger

One of the most beautiful islands of Scotland, accessible only via ferry from Isle of Skye and takes you to the ‘Heaven on Earth’.

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

The Land of Cakes, Scotland, spoils you with its beautiful and mesmerizing landscapes it offers stretches of lakes, lush green mountains, waterfalls and some amazing sunsets. But what amazed me was the long single road winding through the Scottish Highlands with no sight of traffic for the longest period of time. I feel there are more cattle in Scotland than humans and houses, but this could be purely due to an after effect of coming to Scotland from an overcrowded and ‘always hurrying’ population in my home country.

The long winding roads in the highlands of Scotland

I spent 7 days in Scotland which seemed a bit less, but well, that’s what I feel after every vacation. While there’s so much to talk about Scotland, I would like to mention about a place that left me awestruck and can without a doubtbe called ‘the most beautiful place on earth’, is the Raasay Island. I think it will come closest to the description or the wildest imagination of heaven. And to think of it I chanced upon this place due to non-availability of more popular places in Isle of Sky. Rasaay (Ratharsair in Gaelic) means Isle of the Roe Deer.

Ferry approaching Raasay Island from the Isle of Skye

One of the most beautiful islands of Scotland, accessible only through a ferry from Isle of Skye is a mere 25 min ferry ride that takes you to the ‘Heaven on earth’.With a population of just about 170 people and thousands of sheep, this small island has one of the most picturesque landscapes in the world. Still sounds out of a fairy tale. At a point, Google map points you towards the sea and the milestone says ‘North Pole’, post a bit of confusion, you are directed towards the ferry terminal in Sconser from where the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry departs for Raasay a few times a day. The ferry ride is exhilarating as you are accompanied by dolphins (Video below) all through the deep blue waters of Sound of Raasay and bravely face some really chilly winds while on the top deck. Finally when the island nears, you are immediately transported to a world unknown, something that you would have seen only in fairy tales.

The house with a fascinating history- Raasay House

Sipping coffee while enjoying the view from my room at Raasay Island

The House of Raasay is a magnificent building and the best place to stay for tourists on this island. Besides this, there are just a couple of other small bed & breakfast cottages on this island. This beautiful property which has an interesting history (https://www.raasay-house.co.uk/about-raasay-house-history/) is now run by community volunteers. This colonial property is located on the waterfront, a short walking distance from the jetty. The house is surrounded by lush green fields and offers incredible & breath-taking views of mountains and blue waters. During summers, the sun sets at about around 10pm, so the long days give you enough time to enjoy the place to the maximum. The island has innumerable treks and the island map is handed over to you at the reception, managed by very warm staff, or I should say hosts as they are all community volunteers

Pebbles beach

While exploring the island of Raasay, we chose the trek to the waterfall along the sea, however even after walking for about an hour, we could not find it, although the breath taking views did not allow us to be disappointed. We drove through the island, found many hidden lakes, interacted more with sheep than the locals, and all in all, reconnected with nature in these 2 days that we stayed at Raasay island.

Clouds kissing the marvelous mountains

A highly recommended, must visit place in Scotland. I sincerely hope you visit this once in your lifetime and get ready to be enchanted with the beauty of this island.