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Ailsa Craig (; sco, Ailsae Craig; gd, Creag Ealasaid) is an island of in the outer
Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
, west of mainland
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
, upon which
microgranite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergr ...
has long been quarried to make
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the remains of a magmatic
pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
formed during the same period of igneous activity as magmatic rocks on the nearby
Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...
. The island, colloquially known as " Paddy's milestone", was a haven for
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
during the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...
in the 16th century, but is today a bird sanctuary, providing a home for huge numbers of
gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the ...
s and an increasing number of
puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids ( auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in c ...
s.


Etymology

An early reference to the rock is made by Sir Donald Monro, Archdeacon of the Isles, who referred to the rock as "Elsay" in the 16th century. The modern name of the island is an anglicisation of the Gaelic, ''Aillse Creag'' meaning "
fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spiri ...
rock". An alternative Gaelic name is ''Creag Ealasaid'' meaning "Elizabeth's rock". The first element, ''Aillse'' may represent ''Allt Shasann'', "cliff of the English", mentioned in the ''
Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...
'' as ''Aldasain''. The island is sometimes known as "Paddy's Milestone", being approximately the halfway point of the sea journey from
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
to
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
, a traditional route of emigration for many Irish labourers going to Scotland to seek work. As a result of being the most conspicuous landmark in the channel between Ireland and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
, the island is known by a number of different names; *''A' Chreag'': "the rock" *''Creag Alasdair'': "Alasdair's rock" *''Ealasaid a' Chuain'': "Elizabeth of the ocean" *''Alasan'' *''Carraig Alasdair'': "Alasdair's Rock" (used in the ''
Madness of Sweeney ''Buile Shuibhne'' or ''Buile Suibne'' (, ''The Madness of Suibhne'' or ''Suibhne's Frenzy'') is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin, king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity ma ...
'', the tale of a legendary king of Ireland). The
Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcani ...
is sometimes nicknamed "the Ailsa Craig of the East", although its prominence in the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meanin ...
is not as great as that of Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde.


Placenames

A number of features and places on the island have acquired names, Gaelic in most cases, such as Craigna'an (cliff of birds); Trammins (place of Elder trees); Balvar (big round cliff); Garryloo (rough hill) and Ashydoo (black hill). Some names seem self-explanatory and indeed even the 'Swine Cave' may refer to a time when the Earl of Cassilis received part of his rent in hogs from the island.


Geography and geology

The island is approximately west of
Girvan Girvan ( gd, Inbhir Gharbhain, "mouth of the River Girvan") is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies south of Ayr, ...
; it is Haswell-Smith (2004) p.3 in circumference and rises to a height of . The island is part of the administrative district of
South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June ...
, in the ancient parish of Dailly. Geologically, Ailsa Craig comprises the remains of a Palaeogene
pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
. Its prominence is due to the
microgranite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergr ...
's hardness, making it more resistant to
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...
than the surrounding
Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...
and
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
rocks into which it was intruded. The microgranite is itself intruded by a series of
olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers qui ...
dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...
dykes. Ailsa Craig, along with neighbouring Arran, is part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province, a widespread system of magmatic rocks formed during the initial stages of the opening of the
North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...
. Boulders of distinctive Ailsa Craig microgranite known as erratics were transported by glaciers as far afield as Donegal and Pembrokeshire. The microgranite's unusual composition and crystalline texture make it particularly hard and resistant to impact, making the this rock a favoured material for the manufacture of curling stones. The "blue hone" variety is now used for the lower part of the stone which contacts the ice (the running band) while the "common green" variety is used to make the body of the stone (including the striking band). A third variety, "red hone", is similar to blue hone but has now been exhausted.


Facilities and ownership

The island has a fresh-water spring but no electricity, gas, sewage or telephone connections. Apart from sold to the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1883,Lawson (1895) p.21 the island currently belongs to The 9th Marquess of Ailsa. In May 2011 it was announced that the island was for sale; originally given an asking price of £2,500,000, as of March 2013, the current asking price was for offers over £1,500,000. Reports in December 2013 claimed an unnamed environmental trust had placed a formal bid, while in April 2014 the
National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...
was reported to be considering a bid. As of 2020, the island is still owned by The Marquess of Ailsa and is leased by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...
until 2050. The chief well on the island lies above 'the Loups' and this was used by the Northern Lighthouse Board who built a cistern there and piped the water to the lighthouse complex. The 'Horse Well' was located behind the gasworks; the 'Castle Well' stands above Ailsa Castle and then finally the Garry Loch sits higher up and once supplied water to the tenant's cottage. Four cottages, a shed and a small area of adjacent land are in the ownership of the Scottish Indian business tycoon
Bobby Sandhu Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a consta ...
, purchased for £85,000 from the Northern Lighthouse Board. A five-star hotel was to be built; however, planning regulations prevented this development. The only surviving buildings on the island are the lighthouse on its east coast facing the Scottish mainland, a ruined
towerhouse A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
built by
Clan Hamilton The Clan Hamilton, or House of Hamilton, is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council o ...
to protect the area from
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal fro ...
in the 16th century, and the old quarry manager's house that is used by the
RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...
. Margaret Girvan ran a tearoom in a wooden building that stood next to the tacksman's cottage, famed for its pristine white table cloths and fresh scones. Girvan kept goats in stone-built goat rees or pens on the good grazing near Garry Loch. The feral billy goats were wont to interfere with these nanny goats and this was another reason for their demise. Fishermen seem to have used the island for centuries, first being noted in 1549 and it is recorded that they even at one time slept beneath sails stretched over hollows on the beach. A fishermen's cottages row was under construction in the 1840s. However, the main developer died, and the project was abandoned, with the area used instead as a walled kitchen garden until the gasworks was built. The island seems to have been a part of the Barony of Knockgarron that lay in the Parish of Dailly and the then holder, Duncan of Turnberry,
Earl of Carrick Earl of Carrick (or Mormaer of Carrick) is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick (now South Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, ...
established the abbey of Crossraguel and endowed it with the island of Ailsa Craig to "provide for their table". The barony passed through several hands until it became the property of the third Earl of Cassilis in 1548.


History

In 1590 the shipping of the Clyde was disrupted by pirates who were said to be Highlanders, . In 1831, The 12th Earl of Cassilis became first Marquess of Ailsa, taking the title from the Craig, which was his property. An annual hunt of the solan geese or gannets took place in the days of
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who ha ...
as the flesh was considered a delicacy.Purdie p.22 Robert Burns's maternal uncle Samuel Burns was involved in the solan goose trade.


Ailsa Castle

The high ruins of a 3-storey castle that stands on the eastern side of the island was built in the late 1500s by the
Hamilton Family The Hamiltons of the United States are a family of Scottish origin, whose most prominent member was Alexander Hamilton (1755/57–1804), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Their ancestors and relations in Scotland included the Lai ...
to protect the island from King Philip II of Spain. The island was used as a prison during the 18th and 19th centuries. The castle has two vaulted storeys and an oven is located in a cellar with evidence of a spiral stairway that once ran to the top of the tower. Three cinquefoils arranged in a 'V' shape are carved on the tower and indicate that the Hamiltons were linked with the structure. There are indications of an adjoining building that ran to the north.


Spanish invasion

Ailsa Craig was a haven for
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
s during the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...
. In about 1587 the prominent Catholic, Lord
Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage o ...
, landed on Ailsa while attempting to escape his pursuers and finding a fishing boat he attempted to reach
Crossraguel Abbey The Abbey of Saint Mary of Crossraguel is a ruin of a former abbey near the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Although it is a ruin, visitors can still see the original monks’ church, their cloister and their dovecot (pigeon tow ...
, but was captured. In 1597 another Catholic supporter, Hugh Barclay of Ladyland, took possession of Ailsa Craig which he was intent on using as a place of safety for Catholics to practise their faith, for provisioning and stopping off point for a Spanish invasion which would re-establish the Catholic faith in Scotland and a storehouse for provisioning the Catholic
Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of ...
in Ireland. Hugh was however discovered by
The Rev. The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...
Andrew Knox, a Protestant minister (who later became both Lord Bishop of the Isles and Lord Bishop of Raphoe). Barclay thereafter deliberately drowned himself in the sea or did so accidentally whilst trying to escape.Robertson, George (1823). ''A Genealogical Account of the Principal Families in Ayrshire, more particularly in Cunninghame''. Vol.1. Pub. Irvine: Cunninghame press. pp. 72–73. Another version states that Andrew Knox lay in wait for Hugh with nineteen others and ambushed him at the shingle beach with the result that he attempted to defend himself until he was forced back into the sea and drowned.


Smuggling

Beneath the Main Craig at the southern end of the island and 40 ft (12m) above sea level is a cave named after the supposed smuggler MacNall. When the cave was being cleared of
guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of Seabird, seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant ...
many years ago, two stone coffins were found, both containing human bones. The Rev. Roderick Lawson (1831–1907) thought that one of the interments might be MacNall himself, but no details of this individual have yet come to light. Ailsa Craig would have been an ideal place for the temporary hiding of contraband goods.


Chapels

The island had two chapels and
Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...
who visited Ailsa Craig in 1772 recorded that the ruins of a small chapel were located near the landing place and that another chapel (which he did not visit) was located on the summit of the island and was probably used by seamen to pray for safe voyages and returns. Lawson sees this second chapel as being a myth. When the lighthouse was being constructed, four stone coffins were found that may well have been associated with the first mentioned chapel, two at the tenant's house and two at the gasholder site. The monks of
Crossraguel Abbey The Abbey of Saint Mary of Crossraguel is a ruin of a former abbey near the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Although it is a ruin, visitors can still see the original monks’ church, their cloister and their dovecot (pigeon tow ...
once held the island and "places of prayer" are therefore to be expected especially with a garrisoned castle nearby; it is to be noted that even the diminutive
Lady Isle Lady Isle is a small, uninhabited island, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was once home to a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary. The island features a lighthouse and a freshwater spring. Geography Lady Isle lies some southwest of Troon. The ...
off
Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O opera ...
once had a chapel. The chapel was first mentioned, along with the castle, in 1580 by Sir James Balfour.


Lighthouse, foghorns and gas works

The Lighthouse was built between 1883 and 1886 by
Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and around Scotland, as well as the Stevenson ...
; it is owned by the
Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by Act of ...
. The lighthouse was automated in 1990 and converted to solar electric power in 2001; the island has been uninhabited since automation in 1990. Ailsa Craig and its lighthouse feature extensively in Peter Hill's book ''Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper.'' Two substantial
foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...
s with concrete housings were built in 1866, one at the north end of the island near the Swine Cave reached by 'the Loups' pathTait (2005) p.25 and the other at East Trammins on the south end. Both were powered by compressed air that was piped from the lighthouse, where a gas-powered compressor was housed until 1911 when oil-powered engines were installed.Tait(2005) p.26 One of the compressed air pipelines can still be seen within 'the Loups' path that was constructed above it. The compressed air cylinders that held the required store of air are still prominent features, especially at the Trammins foghorn. Both foghorns were decommissioned in 1966 and a Tyfon fog signal was used until 1987 when improvements in ship navigation made it also redundant. The gasworks are still a prominent feature on the island and the cable-powered tramway was partly built to haul wagons full of coal up to it from the North Port. Two gasholders held the coal gas that powered both the compressed air pump and the lighthouse light, however in 1911 the light was converted to incandescent lighting which was powered by electricity.Tait (2005) p.19 The gas works became redundant at this time. Lawson records that oil was used to produce the gas for the lighthouse light.


Railways

Ailsa Craig had two quite separate rail transport systems, one dated from 1886 and supplied coal, oil fuel and provisions to the lighthouse and gas works via the North Port and later the New Jetty and the other transported road stone from the quarries at Kennedy's Nags via the stone crusher to the Quarry Pier. The Northern Lighthouse Board's tramway had a section worked via a powered cableway that hauled wagons up from the North Port and later from the new jetty. This well-built tram line is largely intact and has a gauge of three feet with junction/points at the gas works and a further set of points that led to a siding that ran down parallel to the gable end of the gas works to presumably collect the coal ash for disposal. The main line runs on down to the lighthouse and its ancillary buildings, taking a right-angled bend to run parallel to the southern end of the lighthouse buildings block. This section of the line was worked by hand and at least two wagons remain at the site together with a set of spare wheels at the gas works. The mineral line was built by the Ailsa Craig Granite Company Ltd. in 1909 and ran from the quarry at Kennedy's Nags via the stone crusher near the south foghorn to the Quarry Pier.Tait (2005) p. 28 This crudely constructed narrow gauge line was mainly horse drawn, although wagons were also moved by hand or hauled up inclines by winding engines. The mineral railway at the quarry end had a least one siding and a mobile steam crane loaded the larger granite blocks into the wagons that were transported to the stone crusher at the Trammins near the south foghorn, smaller stones being loaded and even moved by hand. Wagons or bogies were winched up to the substantial stone crusher and gravity was used to deliver the different grades of road stone to the waggons below that were then hauled by horses to the Quarry Pier via a line that ran in front of the lighthouse buildings and took a tight right-angled bend to run up the substantial stone-built incline to the storage area in preparation for delivery via sea to the mainland. Kerb stones and stone railway sleepers for sections of the
Scotch gauge Scotch most commonly refers to: * Scotch (adjective), a largely obsolescent adjective meaning "of or from Scotland" **Scotch, old-fashioned name for the indigenous languages of the Scottish people: ***Scots language ("Broad Scotch") *** Scottish G ...
horse-drawn railway from Ardrossan to Doura were also produced. Photographs taken in the late 19th century show the horse-drawn wagons passing in front of the lighthouse and portray the substantial railway incline and storage area. At times the production outstripped the storage capacity and a photograph shows at least three piles of different grades of road stone stockpiled in front of the lighthouse enclosure. The track at the crusher had a siding that ran to the crusher and a set of points that led to the Quarry Pier main line. The Ailsa Craig Granite Company was never a financially sound business and effectively closed in 1928. The course of the mineral line is still evident near the quarries as a linear embankment that ends below Kennedy's Nag. Various artefacts of the quarry enterprise remain, including concrete blocks at Kennedy's Nag and steel and concrete remnants of the stone crusher near the south foghorn.


Curling stones

From the mid-nineteenth century the island has been quarried for its rare type of micro-granite with riebeckite (known as "
Ailsite Riebeckite is a sodium-rich member of the amphibole group of silicate minerals, chemical formula Na2(Fe2+3Fe3+2)Si8O22(OH)2. It forms a solid solution series with magnesioriebeckite. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system, usually as long pris ...
"), which is used to make stones for the sport of
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
. , 60–70% of all curling stones in use were made from granite from the island and it is one of only two sources for all stones in the sport, the other being the Trefor Granite Quarry in Wales. Ailsa Craig produced two types of granite for curling, ''Blue Hone'' and ''Ailsa Craig Common Green''. ''Blue Hone'', which is unique to Ailsa Craig, has very low water absorption, which prevents the action of repeatedly freezing water from eroding the stone. ''Ailsa Craig Common Green'' is a lesser quality granite than ''Blue Hone''. In the past, most curling stones were made from ''Blue Hone'' but the quarry is restricted by environmental conditions that exclude blasting. Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones since 1851 and has the exclusive rights to the Ailsa Craig granite, granted by the Marquess of Ailsa. A "harvest" of Ailsa Craig granite by Kays took place in 2013, after a hiatus of 11 years; 2,000 tonnes were harvested, sufficient to fill anticipated orders until at least 2020. A subsequent harvest was held in the winter of 2020.


Natural history

Sea eagles or erne nested at the Bare Stack until 1881 when the tenant shot the last specimen, which is preserved at Culzean Castle. Pennant and others have noted that the only trees growing on the island are elders (''
Sambucus nigra ''Sambucus nigra'' is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, European black elderberry and tramman (Isl ...
'') or in the Scots dialect, found as a grove known as The Bourtrees at the Trammins on the southern end of the island. This visitor also rather quaintly mentions that he was surprised to find three species of "reptiles" by which he meant molluscs, namely a naked black slug, the garden snail ''
Cornu aspersum ''Cornu aspersum'' (syn. ''Cryptomphalus aspersus''), known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail in the family Helicidae, which includes some of the most familiar land snails. Of all terrestrial molluscs, this species may ...
'' and one of the common striped snails of the genus '' Cepaea''. He speculated that they had accidentally been brought over from the mainland secreted within vegetables. Slowworms ('' Anguis fragilis'') are found on the island, although they suffered greatly when
badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united ...
s and
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight o ...
s were introduced by Lord Ailsa. The badgers did not survive long, but the racoons bred for a number of years. The mammal fauna included
rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit s ...
s, and at one time goats, whilst pigs were bred here as food for the inhabitants. The billy goats were shot for sport in the 19th century and no longer survive; only a mounted head of one remains at the
McKechnie Institute in Girvan MacKechnie and McKechnie are Irish/Scottish surnames. They are Anglicised forms of the Irish/Scottish Gaelic ''MacEacharna'', meaning "son of ''Eacharn''". The Irish/Scottish Gaelic personal name ''Eacharn'' is composed of two elements. The first e ...
.Tait (2005) p.17 The rabbits and goats may have been originally introduced to supply food for the fishermen and were mentioned by Pennant in 1772Tait (2005) p.16 and by the Rev Abercummie in 1688, who called them by the old name of coneys. The island is now a bird sanctuary, leased by the
RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...
until 2050. Huge numbers of gannets nest here.
Rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s were probably introduced via
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
s; supposedly, a coal boat that sank offshore was the first culprit and caused great harm to the nesting bird populations, with the puffins proving vulnerable to the extent of extinction as breeding birds. After a long campaign using pioneering techniques, the rats were eradicated in 1991, and now puffins are once again raising young on the island with many other benefits accruing to both the fauna and the flora. In a small glen above Ailsa Castle, a small freshwater body known as the Garry Loch is located at an altitude of , with a depth of at least 17 feet.


In popular culture

*In chapter 15 of
Herman Melville Herman Melville (born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a r ...
's novel '' Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile'' (1855), Ailsa Craig is portrayed as an omen. *
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
, during his walk from London to Scotland, composed ''To Ailsa Rock'' (as the island was known then) following seeing the island.


Gallery

File:Ailsa Craig from HMS Campbeltown - geograph.org.uk - 988485.jpg, The eastern coast photographed from . File:Basalt columns on Ailsa Craig.jpg, Columnar rock formations on the south-west side of the island. File:Castle and Lighthouse, Ailsa Craig.jpg, Lighthouse seen from the 16th century tower. File:Summit ridge, Ailsa Craig.jpg, Summit ridge (338 m) across the
Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
. File:William Bell Scott - Ailsa Craig - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Ailsa Craig'' by
William Bell Scott William Bell Scott (1811–1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and occasionally printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vivid picture of life in the ...
, oil on canvas (1860) File:From the west.jpg, Ailsa Craig from the west File:Lghthousewithseals.jpg, Lighthouse with seals


Accidents

Lawson in the 1890s records that a young lady once fell over the cliff near Craig Na'an; however, her Victorian style garments caught the wind like a parachute and she escaped with her life and some broken bones that soon knitted back together. A visitor in a group from Stranraer was not so lucky and fell to his death on his way down from the summit. A shocking death was that of a young boy from Girvan who was sitting amongst loose rocks, pulling out stones and throwing them into the sea when a very large boulder started to move and crushed him. The stone was too heavy to shift and help from the mainland was required to extract the body of the unfortunate victim. In 1887 a ten-year-old boy died whilst collecting eggs at the West Craigs.Lawson (1895) p.73


See also

*
List of islands of Scotland This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...


Notes


References

* * * *Lawson, Roderick (1888). ''Ailsa Craig : Its History & Natural History''. Paisley : J & R Parlane. *Lawson, Roderick (1895). ''Ailsa Craig : Its History & Natural History''. Paisley : J & R Parlane. * Monro, Sir Donald (1549
''A Description Of The Western Isles of Scotland''
Appin Regiment/Appin Historical Society. Retrieved 3 March 2007. First published in 1774. * Paterson, James (1863–66). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. V. – I – Kyle. Edinburgh: J. Stillie. *Pennant, Thomas (1776). ''Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides''. Chester : John Monk. *Purdie, David; McCue Kirsteen and Carruthers, Gerrard. (2013). ''Maurice Lindsay's The Burns Encyclopaedia''. London : Robert Hale. . *Tait, Norman T. (2005). ''Kirk on the Craig''. Pub. Friends of the McKechnie Institute. * Watson, W.J., ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1926) reprinted, with an Introduction, full Watson bibliography and corrigenda by Simon Taylor (Edinburgh, 2004) *


External links


Photo Tour of Trip to the Island



Ailsa Craig



Ailsa Craig, 1868 at the Historical Society of Philadelphia
{{Authority control Islands of the Clyde Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Scottish islands Uninhabited islands of South Ayrshire Landforms of South Ayrshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumnock and Kyle Volcanic plugs of Scotland Paleogene volcanoes Protected areas of South Ayrshire Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Scotland