Ailsa Craig island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland

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Ailsa Craig island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland also known as "Paddy's Milestone" being almost half way between Belfast and Glasgow by sea. A volcanic plug of acres, It is currently uninhabited. Previously, in the 16th century it was a haven for Roman Catholics during the reformation and it was also a prison during the 18th and 19th century. More recently, from mid 19th to mid 20th century, it was quarried for it micro-granite and as of 2004, 60 to 70% of all curling stones in use were made from granite from the island. Currently a bird sanctuary, the RSPB has leased the island until 2050 from it's owner the 8th Marquess of Ailsa, 19th Earl of Cassillis and at the time of taking the photograph the island is up for sale.

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Size: 5616px × 3688px
Location: Ailsa Craig, Firth of Clyde, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Photo credit: © PictureScotland / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ailsa, ailsite, ayrshire, bird, blue, clyde, craig, creag, curling, dailly, ealasaid, extinct, firth, granite, hone, igneous, intrusion, island, micro-granite, milestone, paddy, plug, riebeckite, sanctuary, scotland, scottish, south, stones, uninhabited, volcanic, volcano