Ailsa Craig Island.
What is Ailsa Craig? Ailsa Craig is a well-known landmark in Scotland and is a renowned bird sanctuary. The island is home to one of the largest gannet colonies in the world, with more than 70,000 birds, and is designated a European Special Protection Area.
Ailsa Craig, in the Firth of Clyde, is an island that rises steeply from the sea to a height of 1,110 feet. It is a volcanic plug found in the Clyde Estuary, being active about 500 million years ago.
Who owns Ailsa Craig? Ailsa Craig is owned by the Kennedy family, whose title was taken from the Marquess of Ailsa. Ailsa Craig had been part of the Crossraguel Abbey lands; the dispute over ownership of these lands had formed the background for the notorious “Asado del Abad” in the 16th century. The Kennedy family also owned Culzean Castle, which is now owned by the National Trust.
Where is Ailsa Craig? The distinctive dome-shaped rock-island lies approximately 8 miles from Girvan and approximately 12 miles from Maidens on the South Ayrshire coast. It rises sharply from the Firth of Clyde to a height of 340 m (1,114 ft). Your position is: Latitude 55° 15.1’N, Longitude 5° 06.4’W
It has a conical summit and is very steep, except on the North East Side, where it slopes more gently and is accessible. It can be seen from Girvan for miles in any direction along the Ayrshire coast. The shape seems to change as you move along the shoreline, viewing it from different angles.
Ailsa Craig’s background. Ailsa Craig comes from the Gaelic for ‘Fairy Rock’, it is 1,200 m (1,300 yd) long and 800 m (900 yd) wide, with an area of 100 Ha (245 acres). It is also known as Paddy’s Milestone due to its position as a landmark on the way from Ireland.
What is Ailsa Craig made of? The island was the heart of an ancient volcano, its rock exhibited a fine columnar structure and was known as the source of superior microgranite used to make curling stones.
In fact, most of the curling stones still in use today were made from Ailsa Craig granite. It was here that the curling stones used by the 2002 Winter Olympic gold medal winning Scottish women’s curling team were made.
The living story of Ailsa Craig. At the end of the 19th century, the island had a population of 29 people, working in the quarries or the lighthouse. In 1881 the Northern Lighthouses commissioners received petitions from Lloyds and the Scottish Shipmasters Association requesting the construction of two fog signals and a lighthouse at Ailsa Craig. The Board of Trade and Trinity House agreed to the proposal and work began the following year. Construction was supervised in 1883-6 by Thomas and his nephew David Stevenson, Board Engineers. (Thomas was the father of Robert Louis Stevenson). The light was first displayed on the night of June 15, 1886, an oil light that remained in use until January 24, 1911, when it was converted to incandescent.
Siren fog signals were erected at the north and south ends of Ailsa Craig and were powered by gas engines until 1911, when they were replaced by oil engines.
These fog signals were permanently discontinued in November 1966 and replaced with a Tyfon fog signal, which had a character of 3 blasts, each three seconds long every 45 seconds. It was sounded from a position close to the southeast of the lighthouse tower and not at any of the previous siren signal sites.
This fog signal was discontinued in 1987. Until wireless telephone communications were established on Ailsa Craig in 1935, light keepers and employees of Ailsa Craig Granites Ltd used to rely on pigeons to transmit messages.
A dovecote was established on Girvan Green, where the council established a parking place for cars and buses in 1935.
The improved lighthouse at Ailsa Craig. The lighthouse was automated in 1990 and is now controlled remotely from the Northern Lighthouse Board offices in Edinburgh. In 2001, as part of the renovation and degassing program, the Alisa Craig Lighthouse was converted to solar electric power.
Said premises. “When Ailsa Craig has her coat on, the weather will be very hot, (hot). When Ailsa Craig has her hat on, you can be sure it will be wet, (wat). When Ailsa Craig has her tie on, that’s a sign that it will be dry” The ‘coat’, ‘hat’ and ‘tie’ are the clouds or mist often seen on Ailsa Craig.
There is only one port for Ailsa Craig. It is suitable for landing, but just barely. The water here gets deep very quickly.
At one point, he was put off landing on Ailsa Craig, but now the freedom to act in the field allows him full access, as long as he acts responsibly.