THE sight of the greenish-grey hump of Ailsa Craig rising out of the waves often stirs fond memories. This granite jewel of the Firth of Clyde has become a familiar landmark for generations of Scots visiting the Ayrshire coast on day trips and childhood holidays.
One of my favourite anecdotes comes from my mother who, on a coach tour some years back, recounts her fellow passengers marvelling at the unfolding scenery. A man pointed out the window and gasped: “Oh look, it’s the Bass Rock.”
To be fair, Ailsa Craig and its east-coast counterpart near North Berwick do bear some similarities – both are volcanic plugs and have thriving bird colonies – yet, when it comes to history and geology, each is as starkly different as a human fingerprint.
Two-thirds of the world’s curling stones are said to originate from Ailsa Craig – a tradition stretching back hundreds of years. The granite quarried here is a mixture of what is known as “common green” and “blue hone”. It is low in quartz, meaning it is less prone to fissures and cracks.
READ MORE: There's gold in them thar hills: The rich history of Scotland's highest village
Kays Curling in the East Ayrshire town of Mauchline has made curling stones for every Winter Olympic Games since 1924, with the exception of Salt Lake City in 2002.
Yet, this is only a small part of the Ailsa Craig story. Over the centuries, it has boasted a castle to help ward off Spanish invaders, been used as a prison and reputedly as a smuggling base, with illicit goods hidden in the caves.
Today, Ailsa Craig is a bird sanctuary, leased by the RSPB until 2050. It has the third largest gannet colony in Scotland, while other avian residents include puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes. If you want a closer peek, there are daily boat tours from Girvan aboard the MFV Glorious.
Ailsa Craig’s nickname “Paddy’s Milestone” comes from its location roughly halfway between Glasgow and Belfast – a heart-soaring sight for those catching the ferry home to Northern Ireland or returning to Scottish shores.
READ MORE: The curious tale of how the 'Corpach Wreck' became a Lochaber landmark
While writing this short piece, I enjoyed perusing the many images of Ailsa Craig we have amassed in The Herald archives over the years. I chose this one – taken by our staff photographer Colin Mearns in 2005 – because I liked its ever-so-slightly mystical and ethereal feel.
The name Ailsa Craig is an anglicisation of the Gaelic, Aillse Creag, meaning “fairy rock”. Gazing upon it, you can see precisely why some ancient mariner might have coined this apt moniker.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here