Ailsa Craig
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| Ailsa Craig | |
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| Location | |
  Ailsa Craig
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| Ailsa Craig shown within Scotland. | |
| OS grid reference: | NX019997 |
| Names | |
| Gaelic name: | Creag Ealasaid |
| Meaning of name: | Elizabeth's rock |
| Area and Summit | |
| Area: | 99 ha |
| Area rank (Scottish islands): | 148= |
| Highest elevation: | 338 m (a Marilyn) |
| Population | |
| Population (2001): | 0
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| Groupings | |
| Island Group: | Firth of Clyde |
| Local Authority: | Argyll and Bute |
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| References: | [1][2][3][4] |
Ailsa Craig is an island in the outer Firth of Clyde, Scotland where granite was quarried to make curling stones. "Ailsa" is pronounced "ale-sa", with the first syllable stressed.
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[edit] Geography
The island is located approximately 16 km (10 miles) west of Girvan. 2 miles in circumference and rising to 338 metres, the island consists entirely of a volcanic plug of an extinct volcano that might have been active about 500 million years ago.[5]. It belongs to the administrative district of South Ayrshire, in the ancient parish of Dailly.
There is a lighthouse on the east coast facing the mainland and a ruined keep of uncertain origins perched on the hillside above.
Ailsa Craig is a 1,114 feet high volcanic rock that protrudes from middle of the Firth of Clyde. With the Ayrshire town of Girvan being only ten miles east of the Craig, some local boat owners offer trips around the rock.
[edit] History
Ailsa Craig was a haven for Roman Catholics during the Scottish Reformation.[citation needed]
In 1831, the twelfth earl of Cassillis became first Marquess of Ailsa, taking the title from the Craig, which was his property.
From the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, the island was quarried for its rare type of micro-granite with riebeckite (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[6] and the quarry long since disused. The island is now a bird sanctuary. 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.
[edit] Alternative names
The name of the island is an anglicisation of the Gaelic, Aillse Creag, or Creag Ealasaid, Elizabeth's rock. However as a result of being the most conspicuous landmark in the channel between Ireland and Scotland the island features in a number of early Celtic texts and is known by a number of different names;
- A' Chreag: "the rock"
- Creag Alasdair: "Alasdair's rock"
- Ealasaid a' Chuain: "Elizabeth of the ocean"
- Alasan
- Carraig Alasdair: Also "Alasdair's Rock", used in the Madness of Sweeney [2]
The name Elizabeth is actually a corruption of Elspeth, and refers to Elspeth McCrudden, daughter of Alexander "Sawney" Bean who planted The Hairy Tree in the Ayrshire town of Girvan (which is visible from Ailsa Craig). Local legend holds that Elspeth tried (unsuccessfully) to swim to Ailsa Craig to escape the mob who later hanged her from The Hairy Tree.[citation needed]
Today the island is known locally as Paddy's Milestone as it approximately marks the halfway point of the sea journey from Belfast to Glasgow, a traditional route of emigration for many Irish labourers coming to Scotland to seek work.
The Bass Rock is sometimes nicknamed "the Ailsa Craig of the East", but its prominence in the Firth of Forth is not as great as that of Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde.
[edit] Gallery
 Ailsa Craig, with Kintyre peninsula in the background |
 Basalt columns on the south-west side of the island |
 The lighthouse, taken from the castle |
 Ruined castle |
 Eagle's Seat, a sea cliff |
 A grassy meadow at the north end of the island |
 The north quarry, a source of curling stones |
 The path to the quarry, formerly a railway |
 Shingle beach on Ailsa Craig |
 The summit ridge, looking towards Loch Ryan |
 Cliffs on Ailsa Craig |
 One of two disused foghorns on Ailsa Craig |
 Ailsa Craig seen from Pladda |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 1-84195-454-3.
- ^ Ordnance Survey
- ^ Iain Mac an Tailleir. Placenames. Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ^ Ailsa Craig Retrieved on 2007-10-17
- ^ Northern Lighthouse Board - Automation of lighthouse Retrieved on 2008-01-28
[edit] References
- 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
[edit] External links
- Entry on the Maybole Home Page
- Ailsa Craig Index — computer-generated virtual panoramas
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