Eilean Tigh
Island Passport
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Tidal island. Stamps are never worth a risky crossing. Check official safe crossing times and local signs before walking out.
Eilean Tigh, “house island” or “home island”, is a rugged tidal island of around 130 acres between South Rona and the northern tip of Raasay, in the Sound of Raasay off the Isle of Skye. It was once lived on, and the ruins of several buildings can still be seen at its southern end.
Landscape
Eilean Tigh is a rough island with a coastline of cliffs and rocks. At low tide it is joined to the north end of Raasay by a rocky ledge across Caol Eilean Tigh. To the north, across the narrow strait of Caol Rona, lies Rona, with the tiny Eilean an Fhraoich, “heather island”, in the middle of the channel, and Garbh Eilean and Eilean Seamraig on the Rona side. Fladda is two kilometres to the south, and Skye six kilometres west. The north-western tip is called Rubha na Cloich’ Uaine, “point of the green stone”.
History
The ruins on Eilean Tigh are a reminder that the islands around north Raasay once supported crofting and fishing families. Like Fladda and Rona, Eilean Tigh lost its people over the 19th and 20th centuries as life on these remote islands became harder and families moved away. North Raasay is also famous for Calum MacLeod, the crofter who built almost two miles of road to Arnish by hand, trying to keep his community alive.
More about Eilean Tigh
The north end of Raasay is one of the wildest and most remote corners of the Inner Hebrides, a landscape of ancient gneiss, heather and small lochans, with superb views across to the Trotternish ridge on Skye. There are good anchorages nearby off Fladda and Rona for those arriving by boat.
Visiting
The nearest road ends at Arnish on Raasay, at the end of Calum’s Road, from where it is about a two-hour walk to Eilean Tigh. Crossing to the island is only possible around low tide, so check tide times carefully. Raasay is reached by ferry from Sconser on Skye. You can collect Eilean Tigh as a landing or a sighting in your Island Passport.
Wildlife and area
North Raasay is good for Golden Eagle, Sea Eagle and Eurasian Otter, and you may see Harbour Seal and Grey Seal in the sound. Look out for Red Deer on the hills and Black Guillemot along the shore. Other islands nearby include South Rona, Fladda and Raasay.
Tides
Now
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Next high water
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Next low water
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Not for crossing. These are modelled tide heights, not safe crossing times. Tidal causeways and sands can flood quickly: always check the official safe crossing times and local signs before walking out.
Heights in metres relative to mean sea level; times are UK time. Not for navigation. Tide model: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
How to get to Eilean Tigh
You can reach Eilean Tigh on foot.
On foot
You can walk to Eilean Tigh at low tide. The way across floods quickly as the tide turns: check the safe crossing times and local signs, and never cross on a rising tide.
Plan your trip
Timetables change, so always check with the operator before you travel. We may earn a commission if you book through some of these links, at no extra cost to you.
Wildlife
8 species recorded on the island
All wildlife
Loading all 8 species…
Nothing on the list is usually seen this month.
Recordings from Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons licences; hover a Listen button for the recordist. Sightings are records shared with GBIF since 2000.
Watching wildlife responsibly. Keep your distance from seals, seabird colonies and cetaceans, stay quiet, and never feed or chase wildlife. See the Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code.
