Calum's Road - Isle of Raasay

I took advantage of the very good weather (and my geographical closeness) to travel to Raasay and make a pilgrimage to a remarkable place. I'm going to be directing a radio drama by Colin MacDonald which tells the story of Calum's Road...

Calum's Road extends to almost 2 miles - and includes passing places - that a local man built over a period of ten years. Calum was determined, in the face of council opposition to building a road, that his community wasn't going wither in the face of the big changes to human society of the mid-20th century; a time when ease of travel and constant contact with 'the outside world' was becoming vital to ensure the survival of remote communities. It was an elemental feat of engineering and an epic story of a man fighting against the system. (Calum reportedly bought a secondhand book on road-making, published in the 1930s, and got all the information he needed from it.)

I was so pleased I made the journey because, although I've lived with the story for over a year, I'd no real idea of the scale of his endeavour. The road twists and turns over very hilly land and clings to the edge of the coast in several places. It was a humbling experience to travel along it. (I'd have liked to have walked it but it was very hot and the clegs were extremely fierce... Calum was clearly made of sterner stuff!) I was really pleased that there was a signpost to mark it - and I liked the rusting barrow.

My Flickr page has more pictures of the road itself, which will hopefully give you an idea of its scale.

The radio drama is due for broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October. I'll post more information closer to the time. There's also a book that tells Calum's story which is written by Roger Hutchinson and published by Birlinn.