Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
62.1km²
Area
69km
Coastline
443m
Highest point
Dùn Caan
161
People
14°C
Warmest sea
August
699km
To the mainland
When to go to Isle of Raasay
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (14 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom
Isle of Raasay is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Inner Hebrides. It covers 62.1 km², with 69 km of coastline. Its highest point, Dùn Caan, rises to 443 m. About 161 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 699 km away.
Getting there
- Benbecula Airport (BEB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 80 km in a straight lineCar hire at INV airport (Inverness)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries2 ferry terminals on the island
- 699 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Isle of Raasay.
- 16beaches
- 2viewpointsTemptation Hill
- 1lighthousesEyre Point Lighthouse
- 2ferry terminals
- 9named peaksSgùrr Mòr, Dùn Cana, Beinn a' Chapaill and 6 more
- 1waterfalls
- 1castles and fortsBrochel Castle
- 184ruins and archaeological sitesUamh nan Ramh souterrain, Suisnish souterrain (NG55553485), Raasay Pictish Stone and 181 more
- 5waymarked walking routesCoastal Path and Orchard Wood, Emigrants' Walk, Temptation Hill and Dun Borodale and 2 more
- 6hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 3restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 149 m above the sea. 68 % of it is below 200 m.
- 19 %0–50 m
- 49 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 170 | 123 | 119 | 82 | 96 | 96 | 112 | 129 | 134 | 159 | 151 | 168 |
| Wet days | 23 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.2 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 32 | 30 | 28 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 31 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +1.2 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +2.0 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.6 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Isle of Skye
United Kingdom1,628 km²993 m17 km away
Eilean DonanUnited Kingdom0.01 km²3 m34 km away
RùmUnited Kingdom107 km²812 m48 km away
CannaUnited Kingdom11 km²208 m49 km away
EiggUnited Kingdom30 km²393 m56 km away
South UistUnited Kingdom305 km²620 m78 km away
BenbeculaUnited Kingdom76 km²124 m77 km away
North UistUnited Kingdom298 km²334 m81 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q969065) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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