It looks near from this photograph, but is actually ten miles off Girvan in the Outer Estuary of the Clyde. It looks relatively small, but is two miles in circumference and 1110' high. This is Ailsa Craig, the volcanic plug of an extinct volcano. In historical terms it was to be significant were there to have been a Spanish invasion to re-establish Catholicism in Scotland in the late 16th Century. By the 18th and 19th Centuries it was a prison and from then, into the 20th Century, it became a source of granite for most of the curling stones made in Scotland. Now it's a bird sanctuary and is up-for-sale. The mid-way point it occupies between Glasgow and Belfast has provided the name of 'Paddy's Milestone'.
I believe the price tag is between £1 and 2 million. I would think carefully if I were you. I camped there in June. It's a hard slog to the top, very difficult to walk round and there's no beach. The only flat bit is littered with derelict buildngs. Hard to see how you would make a profit on sales of granite for curling stones and there's no market for guano these days. Richard Clubley
ReplyDeleteSounds rather a millstone than a milestone.
ReplyDeleteIt's well worth a visit though. We took a fast RIB day tour from the south end of Arran this summer, slowing for puffins and guillemots en route. When you get close the noise from the gannets is incredibly impressive and they hug the steep slopes of Ailsa Craig in a mass of whiteness. Never seen anything quite like it.
ReplyDeletePerfect for a secret lair :)
ReplyDeletejust think of the number of wind turbines you could get on there ;)
ReplyDelete