Ailsa Craig Firth of Clyde
Ailsa Craig is an uninhabited volcanic plug rising from the Firth of Clyde approximately sixteen kilometres west of Girvan in Ayrshire, a great rounded dome of granite 338 metres high whose distinctive profile visible from a wide area of the Ayrshire coast and the northern Irish coast has made it one of the most recognisable landmarks in the Irish Sea. The island is famous as the source of the unique blue hone granite from which the highest-quality curling stones are made and as the site of one of the most important gannet colonies in Britain.
The gannet colony on Ailsa Craig is one of the largest in the British Isles, approximately 36,000 pairs breeding on the cliffs and summit slopes of the island, and the boats from Girvan that provide access to the island during the summer season allow observers to experience the colony at close range. The noise, smell and movement of such a large seabird colony is one of the most extraordinary wildlife experiences available in Scotland, and additional species including razorbill, guillemot, puffin, kittiwake and peregrine breed on the island's cliffs.
The blue hone granite quarried from Ailsa Craig has been used to make curling stones since the sixteenth century, and the specific geological and physical properties of this particular granite make it uniquely suited to the demands of the sport. The island's quarrying heritage, visible in the abandoned quarry buildings and the granite extraction sites, adds an industrial dimension to a remarkable natural and wildlife site.