Aith, (

Shetland dialect Shetland dialect (also variously known as Shetlandic; broad or auld Shetland or Shaetlan; and referred to as Modern Shetlandic Scots (MSS) by some linguists) is a dialect of Insular Scots spoken in Shetland, an archipelago to the north of main ...

: Eid,

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Eið'', meaning Isthmus, cf

Eday Eday (, ) is one of the islands of Orkney, which are located to the north of the Scottish mainland. One of the North Isles, Eday is about from the Orkney Mainland. With an area of , it is the ninth-largest island of the archipelago. The bedroc ...

), is a village on the Northern coast of the West

Shetland Mainland The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island contains Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections. Geography It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island and ...

, Scotland at the southern end of Aith Voe, some west of

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

. Aith lies on the B9071 that runs south to the junction with the A971 (which links Lerwick to the west of Shetland) at the village of

Bixter Bixter is a village on the west side of the Shetland Islands, located more than off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Bixter is a group of houses in a large reign of area. Council houses belonging to Hjaltland Housing Association & the Sh ...

and North East via

East Burrafirth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

to the junction with the A970 (which links Lerwick to the North) at the village of Voe. A single track road leads north from Aith along the west shoreline of Aith Voe to

Vementry Vementry (Old Norse: "Vemunðarey") is an uninhabited Scottish island in Shetland on the north side of the West Mainland, lying south of Muckle Roe. Description and history The island is known for its well-preserved chambered cairn. The w ...

. Every year in early June the Aith Lifeboat Gala is held to raise money for the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

, featuring a jarl squad and displays by the Shetland Coastguard among other activities.

History

The modern settlement occupies an area originally named Aithsting during the period of Norse occupation. The surrounding

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

is still known as Aithsting.

Buildings and structures

Aith Lifeboat Station Aith Lifeboat Station is located at the southern end of Aith Voe, in Aith, a village on the north-west coast of the mainland of the Shetland archipelago, approximately from Lerwick. A Lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat was first stationed at Aith b ...

is the most northerly in Britain, established in 1933. *

Aith Junior High School Aith, (Shetland dialect: Eid, Old Norse: ''Eið'', meaning Isthmus, cf Eday), is a village on the Northern coast of the West Shetland Mainland, Scotland at the southern end of Aith Voe, some west of Lerwick. Aith lies on the B9071 that runs sout ...

is situated in the centre of the village. The school has nursery,

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, and secondary departments with a combined roll of around 190–200. The secondary roll includes pupils from

Sandness Sandness (the "d" is not pronounced locally) is a headland and district in the west of Shetland Mainland, Scotland. Sandness was a civil parish, which also included the island of Papa Stour some 1600 metres northwest across ''Papa Sound'' ...

Skeld Skeld (, Shield or shelter) refers to two villages on the south side of the West Mainland of Shetland, Scotland. The main village is called Easter Skeld, while the western end of the settlement, about a mile away, is known as Wester Skeld. The c ...

, Happyhansel and Aith primary schools. The original school building, which opened in 1922 and became a

Junior High Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

in 1970, was located on the east of the main settlement, below the junction of the B9071 and Whitelaw Road. The school relocated to a new building in the more central location in 1982 *

West Mainland Leisure Centre West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, opened on 7 September 2002 and is operated by

Shetland Recreational Trust Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

. Facilities include a main hall, squash court, swimming pool with paddling pool, fitness suite and health suite. *Aith Marina *Aith Community Hall, incorporating the Rankin Lounge.

Notable events

On 20 February 2008 several houses in Aith were evacuated due to a fire in the local garage prompting fears that

oxyacetylene Principle of burn cutting Oxy-fuel welding (commonly called oxyacetylene welding, oxy welding, or gas welding in the United States) and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases (or liquid fuels such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, bio ...

canisters stored there might explode. The garage was destroyed and the site later cleared.

References

External links

Undiscovered Scotland - Aith
{{Shetland Villages in Mainland, Shetland