Check the Beach

Lairo Water

Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom

Lairo Water 3 photos

  • Lairo Water and Veantrow Bay

    Lairo Water and Veantrow Bay. Peter Amsden, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

  • Lairo Water This water on the north coast of Shapinsay is separated from Veantrow Bay by an ayre. Orcadians use the name ayre for the storm beaches dividing sea from lakes.

    Lairo Water This water on the north coast of Shapinsay is separated from Veantrow Bay by an ayre. Orcadians use the name ayre for the storm beaches dividing sea from lakes.. Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

  • Shapinsay: approaching Lairo Water

    Shapinsay: approaching Lairo Water. Chris Downer, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

Today at a glance

Calmest: 9 am to 12 pm, sunset 5:42 pm
9 am
4.7
11 km/h7 mph wind, Fair
10 am
4.7
11 km/h7 mph wind, Fair
11 am
4.6
12 km/h7 mph wind, Fair
12 pm
4.5
12 km/h8 mph wind, Fair
1 pm
4.1
16 km/h10 mph wind, Fair
2 pm
4.1
9 km/h6 mph wind, Fair
3 pm
3.8
2 km/h1 mph wind, Poor
4 pm
3.5
4 km/h2 mph wind, Poor
5 pm
3.2
7 km/h4 mph wind, Poor

This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.

Where to stay near the beach

Compare hotels and apartments near Lairo Water.

Partner links

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Forecast, hour by hour

Beach score for daylight hours, today and tomorrow. Wind in km/hmph underneath.

Air
5°C40°F
Water
12°C54°F
Wind
96 km/hmph S
Gusts
149 km/hmph
Waves
0.3 m<1 ft
UV
0 low
Tide
rising
Rain
0%
Sunset
5:42 pm
Today
4.7Fair9 am117
4.7Fair10 am117
4.6Fair11 am127
4.5Fair12 pm128
4.1Fair1 pm1610
4.1Fair2 pm96
3.8Poor3 pm21
3.5Poor4 pm42
3.2Poor5 pm74
Sat
4.6Fair9 am96
4.5Fair10 am159
4.0Fair11 am2314
3.1Poor12 pm3019
3.0Poor1 pm3522
2.3Poor2 pm4125
1.5Poor3 pm4729
0.7Poor4 pm5232
0.7Poor5 pm5736
Green, 7 and upYellow, 4 to 7Red, under 4Calmest stretch

Tide, next 24 hours

Tide rising now. High at 9 am, 0.6 m. Low at 3 pm, -1.0 m. High at 9 pm, 0.7 m. Low at 4 am, -1.5 mHigh 9 am, 0.6 m2 ftLow 3 pm, -1.0 m3 ftHigh 9 pm, 0.7 m2 ftLow 4 am, -1.5 m5 ftNow1 pm7 pm1 am7 am
  • High 9 am, 0.6 m2 ft
  • Low 3 pm, -1.0 m3 ft
  • High 9 pm, 0.7 m2 ft
  • Low 4 am, -1.5 m5 ft

Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.

The days ahead

Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.

  • Sun2.3 PoorNo standout stretchWind up to 64 km/h40 mph, rain 93%
  • Mon3.9 PoorNo standout stretchWind up to 56 km/h35 mph, rain 26%
  • Tue2.0 PoorNo standout stretchWind up to 88 km/h55 mph, rain 70%
  • Wed2.7 PoorNo standout stretchWind up to 41 km/h25 mph, rain 67%
  • Thu5.4 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 31 km/h19 mph, rain 20%

Beach info

Facilities and the beaches next door.

About Lairo Water

From Wikipedia

Lairo Water is a surface water body known as an ayre situated on the western coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands. This brackish water body is separated by a narrow bar of land from Veantro Bay. This wetland is an area where a variety of bird species may be found. Hogan has suggested that the Lairo Water may have been a source of subsistence food for prehistoric inhabitants of Shapinsay at Burroughston Broch.

Source: Lairo Water on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 19, 2026. Data sources

Facilities

We do not have facility details for this beach yet.

Getting there

Nearest town
4 km2.5 miBalfour (village)
Nearest airport
11 km7 miKirkwall Airport (KOI)

Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources

Nearby beaches