White like a swan...

From the foghorn we made our way back to the lighthouse.

It is now fully automatic and solar powered.

Unlike some lighthouses, it still has a proper lens system. This rotate continuously, even during day time, for increased reliability.

The lighthouse itself is immaculately maintained with gleaming whitewash...

...but sadly, the former keeper's cottages have fallen into disrepair after the NLB sold them to someone who wanted to develop them into holiday cottages but abandoned the project. Vandals have broken into the buildings.

The lighthouse keeper's books and notebooks are still lying where they left them. This hand written note has survived being used to light a fire:

"Be like a swan - calm and serene on the top - and paddling crazy down below!"

A great bellowing on Ailsa Craig.

We heard the bellowing long before we came to the south foghorn on Ailsa Craig.

It obviously wasn't coming from the foghorn as it has been silent since 1966. We passed a row of nine massive but rusting compressed air tanks that provided the "oomph" for the horn. They were supplied by a 2.5" inch pipe that ran 700m from the compressor in the gasworks round to the south of the island.

The air horn emerged from the top of a massive Victorian concrete tower. This and a similar horn at the north end of the island were completed in 1886. The gas engine for the air compressor was replaced by a diesel engine in 1911 and this ran until the horns were decommissioned in 1966. As a boy in Ayr, I remember hearing the foghorns at a distance of 38km! On our visit, the bellowing noise seemed to be coming from below the foghorn.

We spotted the source of the noise. It was grey seal bulls, in the sea and on the rocks below.

Inside the tower there is a remarkable arrangement of pipes, air tanks and the horn itself.

The foghorn is on one of the flight paths from the nearby gannet colony. As the gannets launched off the cliff behind, it looked like they were emerging from the horn itself!

The gannets were busy gathering nesting material for their nests which are...

...situated hundreds of feet up on rocky ledges on the cliffs of the south and west faces of the Craig.

The missing anvil of Ailsa Craig.

After the gasworks we came to the quarry man's house. I stayed here for nearly a week in the summer of 1973.

We continued south to the old forge buildings. They were relatively intact in 1973 but have been demolished to reclaim their granite blocks.

Somewhere I have an old transparency of the huge anvil but despite its size, there was no sign of it now.

The old bellows from the forge were still there.

Not much grows on the talus of granite boulders that lie at the foot of this side of Ailsa Craig.

Along the shore, above high water a series of hollows have been excavated. They were made by fishermen who would drag their boats above high water and cover the depressions with their spars and sails. The area is known as the fishermen's camp.

We now set off, away from the lighthouse, towards the south fog horn.

Gasworks and kailyards on Ailsa Craig.

From Ailsa Craig pier we made our way up the old railway to the tacksman's house.

In the19th century the tacksman and assistants who lived here harvested the seabirds for flesh, eggs and feathers and caught rabbits that thrived because they had no natural predators. They also fished the seas that were teeming with fish.

Behind the cottage a large  area is walled off. Inside is the gasworks with pits for gasometers. The gas produced was used to power an engine that compressed air for the island's two foghorns. However, the wall predated the gasworks. It was built to surround cottages, which were part of a planned fishing station. At the time goats roamed the island and the wall was to keep them out of the cottages kailyard (cabbage patch). Unfortunately the Glasgow man behind the fishing station scheme died before it was completed and the cottages were demolished to make way for the gasworks.

At the top of the slope from the beach we came to the winding station for the railway.

Inside a two cylinder diesel engine still looks remarkably intact. The original engine would have been powered by steam.

The gasometers have long gone and their pits have been filled with rubbish.

Coltsfoot was flowering in the gaps in the wall.

After the winding station the railway splits in two. The left branch goes to the lighthouse and the right goes into the gasworks. The points lever was still in place but the points have seized up.

The gasworks was one of the biggest buildings on the island. You can see the kailyard wall surrounding the works at some distance. On the hill behind, you can just see the castle on the horizon. I wonder what the monks from Crossraguel Abbey (who lived in the castle in the 14th century) would have made of the gasworks!

Run out of line but in line with the code, on Ailsa Craig!

We had landed on the north side of Foreland Point on Ailsa Craig, near the old pier.

This old wooden boat had had a rougher landing than we had. Only its transom was showing above the granite boulders. She had clearly seen better days.

We had landed near one of the old quarry workshops. It was here that they cut cylinders of granite from the quarried rock. These were exported to be made into curling stones.

A light cable powered railway took paraffin and coal to the lighthouse and gas works and brought the granite blocks to the shore. This old bogey has run out of line and ended on the beach.

Its rusting wheels would turn no more...

 ...but Jim did manage to get a fee degrees out of an old hand winch.

The RSPB now have the lease of Ailsa Craig. Their sign says "RSPB Scotland welcomes responsible access in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code". Excellent, you can't say fairer than that, so we set off to explore responsibly!

Return to Ailsa Craig

Just 12 days after our last visit, the call of the Craig proved too much...

...and we set off once more on the 14km crossing.

Jim had borrowed a Rockpool Taran and wanted to see if it would cope with his usual 5,000kg or so of camping gear.

It proved suitably commodious and handled a treat. We arrived at Ailsa Craig after a fast crossing...

...from the Ayrshire coast, which seemed a long way away.

Jim was already plotting the purchase of a Taran. I would love to try one with a Flat Earth sail!

Ailsa calling!

On the way back from Ailsa Craig, Phil uncharacteristically fell behind,

He had some trouble with broaching as he had put all his gear in the front hatch and a Quest does not like being nose heavy! John very kindly stayed with him and gave words of encouragement. John Willacy is a true gentleman and it was our great pleasure to spend the day with him.

The 14km crossing passed all too soon and our keels kissed the sand at Lendalfoot again.

We stood on the beach gazing back at the great rock of Ailsa with memories of its teeming birdlife. The island was already calling us back. We knew we would be return soon...

John Willacy surfed my wake!

It was now time to leave Ailsa Craig and right on cue a nice F3-4 breeze got up from the NW to help us home. I used the sail to get in front of the others...

...and get some photos of the Arran mountains with Phil in the foreground.

Tony flashed by in his very sparkly  Cetus.

 Gradually the NW wind cleared the sky behind us.

John's Rockpool Taran surfed the waves very easily...

...as we slid down the waves back to Ayrshire.

At one point John and I went ahead of the others, John was surfing on my wake, his bow nudging my stern....

...but I had my sail up!