Lendalfoot, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK . View across to Ailsa Craig with seabirds . Ailsa Craig is an island of 99 hectares ( 240 acres) in the outher Firth of Clyde. 16 Kilometres west of the mainland of Scotland. It 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 breeding ground for one of the largest colonies of gannets in the world & it contains a most important 'blue hone' granite quarry, known the world. over as the source of granite for curling stones
Ailsa Craig lies approximately 10 miles off the Ayrshire Coast. Known as "Paddy's milestone" it sits approximately half way between Glasgow and Belfast. To get to Ailsa Craig it is possible to hire a private boat from Girvan or land a helicopter. From the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, the island was quarried for its rare type of granite, known as "Ailsite" which was used to make curling stones. The floor of the Chapel of the Thistle in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh is also made of this rock. Ailsa Craig is now uninhabited, the lighthouse having been automated in 1990. The quarry is still operated from time to time, but there are no resident workers. The island is now a bird sanctuary managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Huge numbers of gannets nest here and following a pioneering technique to eradicate the island's imported population of rats a growing number of puffins are choosing to return to the Craig from nearby Glunimore and Sheep Islands.
Size: 5184px × 3456px
Location: Lendalfoot, Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
Photo credit: © Alister Firth / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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