Umachan
Umachan is a deserted township in the far north of Raasay, perched above the sea on rough ground facing the island of Rona. It is one of the settlements in the north of the island where families displaced by the clearances in the south tried to make a living on poor land.
History
Umachan and the other townships of northern Raasay, such as Torran, Kyle and Doire Dubh, were probably founded in the 18th century as the island’s population grew. The township first appears in rent rolls in 1827. After the clearances of the 1850s, two families from Hallaig settled here. In 1883 a man from Umachan gave evidence to the Napier Commission, which investigated the conditions of crofters in the Highlands and Islands. The township was eventually abandoned in the 20th century.
Visiting
Umachan is reached by a rough path from Arnish, at the end of Calum’s Road, the road famously built by hand over ten years by Calum MacLeod, one of the last residents of northern Raasay. The walk passes moorland lochs and gives fine views to Rona and Skye.
About island abandoned villages
All abandoned villages →All over the islands of Britain and Ireland stand the roofless houses, overgrown fields and empty streets of villages whose people left. Some were cleared by landlords to make way for sheep, some emptied slowly as the young went to find work, and some, like St Kilda, were evacuated when life became too hard to…
