The Ness of Galtagarth is connected to Isle of Yell by an ayre, in the sense of tombolo

An ayre is a body of water positioned very near to the ocean and divided from the sea by a narrow bar of land. Yell is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 957 A tombolo is a deposition Landform such as a spit or bar which is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land The term is derived from an Old Norse word used to depict a lake which is only separated by a narrow strip of low lying land from the sea itself. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Examples of an ayre include Vasa Loch and Lairo Water on Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands. Vasa Loch is a Brackish Lagoon in southwestern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. Lairo Water is a surface water body known as an ayre situated on the western coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands. Shapinsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north (Masters, 1840) These ayres have been suggested as food sources for Iron Age man on Shapinsay. (Hogan, 2007) Sometimes, the term ayre is used interchangeably for the sea beach or tombolo associated with the narrow strip of land. A tombolo is a deposition Landform such as a spit or bar which is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land (Metcalfe, 1896) Ayres are most commonly associated with the Northern Isles (Orkney Islands & Shetland Islands) of Scotland. The Northern Isles ( Old Norse: Norðreyjar) are a chain of Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The only man-made ayre in the Orkneys is the Ayre of Cara on South Ronaldsay. South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. (South Ronaldsay, 2007)

See also

• Estuary
• Wetland

References

• G. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog T. Masters, Orkney, Approaches to Kirkwall, HMS official survey map, 1840-1843
• C. Michael Hogan, (7 Oct 2007) Burroughston Broch, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham
• William Musham Metcalfe and Ruaraidh Erskine eds. (1896) The Scottish Review, J. H. Jackson, Original from the University of Michigan, v. 27 1896 Jan-Apr
• South Ronaldsay: Profile (2007)