The Lang Ayre is a beach on the west side of

Ronas Hill Ronas Hill (or Rönies Hill) is a hill in Shetland, Scotland. It is classed as a Marilyn, and is the highest point in the Shetland Islands at an elevation of . A Neolithic chambered cairn is located near the summit. Location Ronas Hill (, meani ...

Northmavine Northmavine or Northmaven ( non, Norðan Mæfeið, meaning ‘the land north of the Mavis Grind’) is a peninsula in northwest Mainland Shetland in Scotland. The peninsula has historically formed the civil parish Northmavine. The modern Northmav ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

. At in length it is the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

's longest. It is accessed either by a long walk from the top of Collafirth Hill down the Burn of Monius, or by sea. The beach's sand is red, eroded from the up to high red granite cliffs towering above it.

Etymology

The name ''Lang Ayre'' comes from the

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 ...

words ''lang'' (long) and ''ayre'' (shingle beach).

Access

The Lang Ayre is situated north of the mouth of

Ronas Voe Ronas Voe ( Shetland Dialect: ''Rønies Voe'') is a voe in Northmavine, Shetland. It divides the land between Ronas Hill, Shetland's tallest mountain, and the Tingon peninsula. It is the second largest voe in Shetland, the largest being Sullom V ...

, and is about from the nearest road, so it is considered quite remote, even by Shetland standards. Many walkers visiting the beach also undertake a walk to the summit of

en route. The beach is most easily accessed on land by following the Burn of Monius down a steep-sided

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each ...

, taking the most sheltered route via the Blade, Ronas Voe. The beach is directly exposed to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

, so westerly and north-westerly winds can be challenging to those small craft.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{Northmavine Beaches of Scotland Northmavine