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Udal law

/ˈjuːdl/ /lɔː/

Languages

English

Location

Orkney

Text

Udal law is a Norse-derived legal system, found in Shetland and Orkney in Scotland, and in Manx law in the Isle of Man. Under udal law, the title to the foreshore extends to ‘the lowest ebb’, to which the Crown has no prior right.

Media

Orkney, Image: Carl C.Z. Jonsson

Questions & Provocations

How is the public's right to access the shore and the sea included within ideas of right to roam?