Aikerness forms the north-eastern extent of Westray. The kelp workings (Canmore ID 294784) run along the coast from NGR HY 45971 52298 to HY 46100 52161 with those at the south-east end located within the Westray Airfield perimeter. The survey recorded the tangle dykes located at the north-west end of the features identified as part of the Canmore record and continued along the coast, with additional kelp working features being identified at Bow Head.
The site was visited as part of the project launch in Westray during December 2023 with recording undertaken by the ORCA team and local volunteers in October 2024.
Historical Background
The kelp workings are not depicted on any of the Ordnance Survey 25-inch series of maps. Tangle dykes are, however, shown on the 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map from 1973.
Survey Results
Twenty features were identified along the coastal edge, one of which was an elliptical structure butting against a boundary wall. This was similar to structures identified at Quarryhouse, Eday, and Nether Breck, North Ronaldsay. The remaining nineteen features were all related to kelp-working.
Kelp Pits
A total of nine kelp-pits were identified during the survey, all located on Bow Head. Their size ranged from 1.6m to 3.8m in diameter with an average depth of 0.3m. Six of the kelp pits were classified as ‘Probable’ and the three largest were considered as ‘Definite’.
Tangle Dykes
Ten tangle dykes were identified altogether, varying in length from 3.7m to 12.2m. They had an average width of 0.77m and varied in height from 0.3m to 0.65m. All the dykes were orientated perpendicular to the coastal section.
The preservation of the dykes varied. Some were well-preserved with multiple courses of stonework, but several appeared to have been truncated either by the actions of the cattle present in the field, or being subsumed by the storm beach.
