Fingal's Cave is a geological formation located on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.

Eilean Calbha, Iona - Frances Macdonald , 2025.

Scottish , b. 1945 -

sunset over the small isles

On the 18th January 2009 just a few weeks before the completion of a £4m restoration project, Raasay House was severely damaged by fire.

The history of Raasay and the house here is intermingled with The McLeod Clan, of which my own family were septs to on the Island, and quartermasters to the family. . A clan house, home to the Macleod Chief of Raasay, has stood on or near the present site from as early as the 1500’s, but the original clan house was burnt to the ground, torched by government troops after Culloden. Like many families there were MacLeods on both sides that day, the Raasay branch were on the Jacobite side. Perhaps the most famous of the clan in modern times is Calum Macleod, who single handily famously built Calum’s Road on the Island over ten years, with little more than a shovel, a pick and a wheelbarrow.

Anyway, back to the house. Since rebuilding started on 1747 the present Raasay House history has been recorded right through to today.

In 1773 Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell made their historic journey to the Western Isles and were guests of the Macleod chief at Raasay House, but by 1843 the last Laird, John Macleod, left the house and emigrated with his family to Australia, the house was old three years later to a George Rainy from London and changed hands again in 1872-4.By 1746 it was in the hands of It was sold to Henry Wood who added the ornate Georgian-style wings and frontage to the house. It changed hands twice more before being converted into a sporting hotel around 1937, very successfully at first, with many wealthy guests. It closed it’s doors in 1960.

Another 3 decades passed under different owners and the house was used as an Adventure centre and Outdoor centre, during which little maintenance work was carried out and the building started to deteriorate, it was finally sold to the Raasay House Community Company in 2007. A multi-million-pound project to renovate and refurbish Raasay House commences a year later.

Fire caused damage to all but the west wing in January 2009, just as the house was about to be reopened but thanks to a lottery grant the house rose from the ashes to what it is today, the house retains many of its historical features which were painstakingly restored. Today, still owned by the community it has returned to it’s use as a hotel and has a four and a half star rating out of five on Tripadvisor.

As you can see from the pics it is a beatiful building, and the views from the house over to the Isle of Skye are stunning.