West Aith is a Grade B listed building in the Orkney Islands local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 30 March 1994. Crofting range.

West Aith

WRENN ID
roaming-pediment-lichen
Grade
B
Local Planning Authority
Orkney Islands
Constituency
Orkney and Shetland MP: Mr Alistair Carmichael (LD)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
30 March 1994
Type
Crofting range
OS grid reference
HY 248 177
Coordinates
59.03973, -3.31147
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

West Aith is a 19th-century single-storey crofting range that includes two three-bay cottages and an adjoining barn or byre to the west. The building is constructed of rubble and features gabled end walls.

The cottage on the east side has a south-facing entrance elevation with a central gabled porch. The porch contains a door in its east return and a window in the south gable, with additional windows flanking the porch. There is also a window opening in the east gable wall and another on the north elevation. The roof is made of flagstone and retains remnants of turf thatch.

The central cottage also has a south-facing entrance elevation, featuring a central door flanked by single windows. Its roof is similarly constructed of flagstone with turf thatch.

Both cottages have four-pane glazing in sash and case windows and broad gablehead chimneystacks. The barn or byre has two doors in its south elevation and features a replacement roof.

Local climate

West Aith sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,180 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 98% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 3 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 99% of listed buildings. Of these, 3 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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