Ailsa Craig is a tiny volcanic isle—more specifically, a plug of dense granite leftover from a long-extinct volcano. It is located about 16 kilometers (10 miles) off the coast of southwestern Scotland, near the mouth of the Firth of Clyde.
The island has been uninhabited since automation in 1990. The island currently belongs to David Thomas Kennedy, the 9th Marquess of Ailsa. He owns the entire island, apart from two hectares which were sold to the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1883.
The dramatic granite outpost of Ailsa Craig is an icon amongst Scotland's smaller islands. The island can be visited on a boat trip from Girvan; the ascent to its highest point as described here is extremely steep and rough: it gives a real hillwalking challenge but an unforgettable one.
Volcanic plug
Ailsa Craig is currently owned by the Scottish peer Archibald Angus Charles Kennedy, the 8th Marquess of Ailsa. The dome-shaped land mass in the Firth of Clyde rises to 1100 ft above sea-level. Geologists believe the island is a "plug" left behind from an extinct volcano.
Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh is also made of Ailsa Craig Common Green granite. Ailsa Craig is uninhabited and is now a bird sanctuary and home to large numbers of various species of birds including gannets, razorbills, kittiwakes, herring gulls, shags, fulmars, puffins and black-backed gulls.
Ailsa Craig is a spectacular landmark, rising steeply out of the sea up to 1110 feet at its peak. It can be seen from all along the Ayrshire coast, as well as Kintyre and from Northern Ireland, although it is only 3/4 of a mile long by 1/2 a mile wide.
It is now ten years since the rats on Ailsa Craig were completely eradicated. In this article I cover the background to rats arriving on the island, how they were eliminated and some of the subsequent changes following their demise.
Clans, Sept & Regiment of the Scottish Highlands"] The Scottish surname Craig is derived from the Gaelic creag meaning "rocky hill". The surname is a topographic name for a person who lived near a steep rock, and often prefixed to the names of places in hilly or mountainous districts in various parts of Scotland.
Ailsa Craig, a volcanic island immortalised in the memory of a million childhood holidays, climbs out of the Firth of Clyde 10 miles off the Ayrshire coast.
Did you know that all the curling stones used at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are made in Scotland? The granite is quarried on the tiny uninhabited island of Ailsa Craig and then made in the East Ayrshire town of Mauchline.
It is located about 16 kilometers (10 miles) off the coast of southwestern Scotland, near the mouth of the Firth of Clyde. It is sometimes referred to as “Paddy's Milestone” due to its location halfway between Glasgow and Belfast. The name Ailsa Craig roughly translates as “fairy rock” in Gaelic.
The name Ailsa Craig is thought to derive from Gaelic words meaning “Fairy Rock.” About 0.75 mile (1.2 km) long and 0.5 mile (0.8 km) wide, Ailsa Craig rises steeply to an elevation of 1,114 feet (340 metres) and is accessible only on the eastern side.
Sanda Island (Scottish Gaelic: Sandaigh) is a small island in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, off the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, near Southend and Dunaverty Castle. On clear days Sanda can be seen from the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, from the Isle of Arran and from northeast County Antrim.
Scotland's Ailsa Craig island up for sale by owners for US$2.4 million | South China Morning Post.
The last harvest of Ailsa Craig granite took place in 2013, after a hiatus of 11 years. The company is said to have harvested 2,000 tons of stone sufficient to fill anticipated orders until at least 2020. Today, most curling stones are hybrids, made from both Ailsa Craig granite and Trefor granites.
Lycopersicon esculentum 'Ailsa Craig' is a tall indeterminate variety, and has been a firm favourite with gardeners since it was bred in Scotland back in 1925. Its uniform, mid-red fruits ripen early in the season, and have an outstanding flavour. A heavy cropper, it can be grown in the greenhouse or outdoors.
Ailsa Craig is formed from a volcanic plug from a long extinct volcano believed to be over 500 million years old. It is an archetypal island mountain; a symmetrical cone of primitive rock thrusting from the sea 10 miles west of the south Ayrshire coastline and a symbol great natural grandeur.
In German Baby Names the meaning of the name Ailsa is: A , meaning 'my god is bountiful', or 'god of plenty. ' Also from the Old German athal meaning 'noble'. Famous bearers: heroine of Wagner's opera 'Loheogrin'; the tame lioness in Joy Adamson's Born Free.
Craig is a Scottish, Irish and Welsh masculine given name, all variations derive from the same Celtic branch. The name has two origins. In some cases it can originate from a nickname, derived from the Scottish Gaelic word creag, meaning "rock," similar to Peter.
What is the oldest clan in Scotland? Clan Donnachaidh, also known as Clan Robertson, is one of the oldest clans in Scotland with an ancestry dating back to the Royal House of Atholl. Members of this House held the Scottish throne during the 11th and 12th centuries.
The Scottish surname CRAIG is derived from the Middle English Gaelic word creag, crag, carraig, or gragg meaning “rocky hill”. It describes hazardous, steep, rugged rock which marked the terrain where a man lived.
The vast volcanic plug of Ailsa Craig, or the Fairy Rock, off the south Ayrshire coast has some of Europe's most significant seabird colonies including 40,000 pairs of gannets and a small population of puffins.
The Puffin colonies on Ailsa Craig and on the island of Sanda, at the Mull of Kintyre, are increasing. From the records held by the Arran Natural History Society there are signs that the number of sightings in Arran waters has also increased in recent years.
For bird spotters, there's loads on offer, and each month Arran Birding publishes a list of visiting birds, which can include occasional spotting of white-tailed eagles and even little puffins around Arran's shorelines. The coast is also a great place to see gannets diving.
Mauchline, village, situated near the River Ayr in East Ayrshire council area, historic county of Ayrshire, Scotland, and closely associated with the Scottish national poet, Robert Burns. It is the site of the Burns National Memorial.