Raasay Heritage Trust
A stand of trees has been located on the shoreline of the village of Clachan on the Isle of Raasay, (Rā-Sā) Scotland, UK; part of the Inner Hebrides of western Scotland. Due east of Portree from the Isle of Skye, they are located on the property of Andrew and Anne Gillies in front of Raasay House.
Their exact location is Latitude 57.3518236, Longitude -6.0807551.
Simple map of Isle or Raasay location.
This stand of trees is identical in every way to those iconic tall, sinuous and lanky canopied-trees
photographed on Oak Island’s Isaac’s Point and Smith’s Cove area, circa 1880-1945. Long thought to be a type of Oak tree (Quercus genus), the Oak Island mystery trees have been identified as Acer
pseudoplatanus or European Sycamore.
Roadway covered with E. Sycamore tree, the same found on Oak Island.
They grow in an almost identical environment as the Oak Island trees, and the western Hebrides islanders from this area in Scotland, were some of the earliest settlers in the Mahone Bay and Nova Scotia coastline. In America and Canada the A. pseudoplatanus is known as the Sycamore Maple Tree. Botanical examination and dendrochronological applications are being performed for further dating and identification.
These Raasay Isle trees were first written about by the Scottish biographer, diarist and lawyer, James Boswell (1740-1795). Boswell was the 9 th Laird of Auchinleck and was from Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography “The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D.” Written of his friend and older contemporary the English writer Samuel Johnson. It is commonly said to be the greatest biography written in the English language. In this biography, the pair visited The Laird of Raasay, Mr. Malcolm MacLeod on September 10 th , 1773.
Thoughts and discussions of the longstanding accord between MacLeod of Raasay and MacDonald of Skye, dinners and entertainment with islanders and guests, with later exploration of the isle itself. While there Boswell notes and discusses the same stand of trees we link to Oak Island, saying, “There are a number of trees near the house, which grow well, some of them of a pretty good size. They are mostly Plane and Ash.”
View across the fields of sheep down to the distance stand of trees.
We believe it may be proven the stand of European Sycamore (Plane) trees may reveal a hereditary relation with those mystery trees of Oak Island. As old as those Oak Island trees, this stand is winding down its mortality. We invite you to explore the Isle of Raasay through this website link, and especially learn of the very long history of this area through the information provided by the Raasay Heritage Trust.
Raasay 2015 Winter: Looking down on the mystery trees from atop the mansion.
The Raasay Heritage Trustees are indigenous islanders, who strive to project and promote the island's culture, heritage and the Gaelic language. There is archaeological evidence of occupation going back at least 4,000 years.
Please support their endeavors and visit their website www.raasayheritagetrust.org.uk.