olympiccurlingstones

[General view, Ailsa Craig, Scotland] (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• 5 older comments, and then…
• Mando Maniac said:

  Hi, I'm an admin for a group called ANYTHING GOES SCOTLAND,VINTAGE PHOTOS,POSTCARDS,EPHEMERAetc..., and we'd love to have this added to the group!

• Pixel Wrangler said:

  This is a view of the south side of Ailsa Craig ("Fairy Rock"), "a 1,114 feet high volcanic rock that rises from the 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. Granite was once quarried here to make curling stones. (All curling stones for the Olympic Winter Games have come from this quarry.)
  
  "There is a lighthouse on the east coast facing the mainland and a ruined keep of uncertain origins perched on the hillside above.
  
  "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.
  
  "Ailsa Craig is now uninhabited, the lighthouse having been automated in 1990 and the quarry long since disused. The island is now a bird sanctuary, and huge numbers of gannets nest here ... and a growing number of puffins are choosing to return to the Craig from nearby Glunimore and Sheep Islands."—Wikipedia
  
  Click images to view close-ups from other Flickr members:
  
  "Fog Horn" "Tower" "Puffins"

• pollypocket44 said:

  I remember this rock from my childhood...You could see it from Irvine beach...

• atomicjeep said:

  The other side:
  

• wakitu said:

  Thank you, Pixel Wrangler and atomicjeep!