Ayrshire's gem of a coastline.

We cut across the wide expanse of Culzean Bay. It is backed by the sands of Croy. Behind the shore there is a cliff line with a raised beach behind. This is now rich agricultural land and when the fields are ploughed, many gem hunters follow the plough seeking out agates. These semi precious stones can also be found on the current beach but there most are broken and cracked by wave action.


We landed at the remote north end of Culzean Bay.


What a magnificent spot to enjoy lunch!


This can be an awkward spot to land in surf, with lots of boulders to catch the unwary!


In the clear winter air, it seemed we could nearly reach out and touch the rocky ridges of Arran's snow covered mountains.

06/12/2008

Disembodied heads on the return from Ailsa Craig!

After our exploration of the lonely rock of Ailsa Craig we set off on our return journey in glorious May afternoon sunshine.


It was hot work in the sun as what little wind there was began to die away as Ailsa Craig began to grow smaller on the western horizon.


By the time we were approaching Lendalfoot on the Ayrshire coast, the wind had dropped completely and we paddled accompanied by crazy reflections, some with disembodied heads.


The tide was well out as we landed in the reefs over which we had paddled just a few hours ago. On the horizon Ailsa Craig looked distant again but now we had an exact measure of that distance.

05/05/2008

Landfall at Culzean

We made first landfall at the south end of Culzean estate.


The low December sun cast shadows behind each ripple in the sand. In summer this popular beach would be covered in footprints.


In the distance Ailsa Craig floated on the calm waters of the Firth of Clyde.


We were soon paddling north under the walls of Culzean Castle. This is a great piece of coastline and one we visit regularly. It was in fact my first ever sea kayaking trip!

06/12/2008

Not quite a Maidens morning!

Even the mid day shadows were long in the low mid winter sun. A great forecast had raised the possibility of a far flung adventure, somewhere up the west coast. But on Saturday I slept in, after a hard week at work. So we found ourselves just down the Ayrshire coast at Maidens.


We were on the water by 1230 and I could hardly take my eyes off the beautiful snow covered ridges of Arran on the far side of the Firth of Clyde.


It was Jennifer's first time on the water since a serious mountain bike accident. It was a perfect reintroduction!


Behind us Ailsa Craig dominated the SW horizon beyond Barwhin Point and its clear silhouette held the promise of a spectacular sunset later.

06/12/2008

It really doesn't get much better....

All the recent talk about Ailsa Craig took us back to the Ayrshire coast. It really doesn't get much better than the mid winter sun setting behind Ailsa Craig. Of course we waited for the sunset in the comfort of the bar which is a mere 50m away!


This was 1 hour later. We still had 10km to get back to the car from the sunset. It was very dark and cold when we finally landed. Magical paddling!

06/12/2008

Rock and roll on Ailsa Craig

From the slopes above the lighthouse, we had spotted a huge pile of granite boulders at the top of the beach. These had been collected in 2001 by a digger and dump truck from the site of the old quarry by the south fog horn. No fresh blasting took place, the pieces of rock had lain there since the quarry was abandoned in 1971. The moving machinery had been brought by landing craft by Kays of Mauchline who make the world famous Ailsa Craig curling stones. They removed 1,500 tons of granite on the landing craft and left the remainder on the beach for future supplies.


In the past, the granite was cut into cylinders of rock on the island. The cylinders were then further cut and finished into curling stones at Kay's workshop on the mainland. It is still possible to find blocks of rock that have had cylinders cut out.


Although Kays used a JCB digger to load a landing craft in 2001, in the past a light railway served both the lighthouse and the quarry. Wagons loaded with granite rock were allowed to roll down the slope to the jetty.


This rusting truck is just about all that is left of the wagons. The railway was operated by a cable system. When hauling oil and supplies up to the lighthouse it was powered by an engine in a pit at the top of the railway.


The railway ran right to the end of the pier where a crane was used to unload and load supply and quarry ships.

05/05/2008

Ailsa Craig lighthouse.

From the summit of Ailsa Craig we started our steep descent back to the lighthouse. At times it looked like we were about to walk over a precipice but the path always swung back onto more gentle slopes.


The castle and the lighthouse reappeared almost beneath our feet!


As we traversed the slope we could see huge blocks of granite piled at the top of the beach beyond the lighthouse (see next post).


The lighthouse was built by Thomas and David Stevenson in 1886. The light flashes white every 4 seconds. The lighthouse was automated in 1990 and the last keepers left.


This NLB plaque can be found in the courtyard. Unfortunately the former keepers' cottages and workshops are falling into dilapidation.

05/05/2008

It's tough being a gannet!

Not far from the summit cairn of Ailsa Craig we found this unprotected greater black backed gull nest. Now the rats have gone, this ruthless bird has no predators. We have seen these gulls straffing a colony of razorbills, forcing them into flight then eating their eggs.


Just a short distance away, down a grassy bank, lay the top of the gannet colony on the west craigs. It was quite tempting to go down and get some good closeups of the nesting gannets. But these gannets were incubating their eggs. If they had been disturbed and left the nest, the gulls would have swooped down and stolen the eggs. I contented myself with this distant view.


Marauding black backed gulls were not the only problem facing the gannets. Thirteen fishing boats, at least two of which were registered to Belfast, were trawling round and round Ailsa Craig. From the heights we could see where their nets had stirred up the sea bed. It seemed a great pity that so many fish were being scooped out of the sea, right under the beaks of the breeding gannets.

05/05/2008

Splendid isolation on the heights of Ailsa Craig.

From the Castle, Tony Gavin and myself perspired on our way up a steep bank of bluebells towards the summit of Ailsa Craig.


We caught our breath at the Castle Well. Although the water bubbling from the ground was crystal clear, we did not slake our thirst. The well had several floating feathers and the surrounding grass was littered with bird droppings.


Continuing upwards we came to the Garry Loch. In the summer this nearly dries out and its banks are covered with marsh marigolds.


Higher still we came to the bothy. This two roomed dwelling grows out of a steep bank. It would have had a thatch or turf roof. At one time sheep, goats and pigs were kept on Ailsa Craig and the herdsman would have spent at least the summers in this high spot.


Finally we arrived at the summit cairn and trig point. Ailsa Craig is 338m high and we had hoped to be rewarded with views of Kintyre, Arran, Ben Lomond, Ayrshire, the Galloway hills and the mountains of the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. However, the early summer high pressure system, which gave us a calm crossing, had brought increasing haze.

So we stood on the summit in splendid isolation from the rest of the World.

05/05/2008

The ancient keep of Ailsa

From the lighthouse, we made our way up to the ancient keep of Ailsa Craig castle. It was built in the late 14th century and granted to the abbots of Crossraguel Abbey by a charter of King Robert III in 1404.


The final approach to its austere walls was up a steep bank of bluebells whose colour matched the sky.


Although it was never laid ruin by a siege or by later builders looking for stones, its ancient corners have been weathered by centuries of winds.


Inside it is possible to climb to the great hall, if you step over the hole which leads to the dungeon.


Inside the hall the great fireplace and a side oven can still be seen. If you are very brave, it is possible to ascend to the roof by climbing on just the remaining outside edges of the spiral staircase.


It was a relief to step onto the security of Ailsa's rock again.

05/05/2008

The siren calls of Ailsa.

Emerging from the shade of Bare Stack we passed the north fog horn of Ailsa Craig. The north and south sirens were built at the same time as the lighthouse. An oil engine in the lighthouse buildings ran a compressor which fed air through pipes two and a half inches in diameter to the siren towers.


In Greek mythology, sweet singing sirens tempted ships to destruction on the rocks. Ailsa's sirens bellowed like a bull and had quite the opposite effect on sailors.


This warning sign is redundant. The sirens are long silent.


Soon the lighthouse came into view again.


We landed gently in a little bay of stones....


...before starting on our long climb to the lofty summit of Ailsa Craig.

05/05/2008

The lost puffins and last sea eagle of Ailsa Craig

As we continued round Ailsa Craig from the main gannet colonies, we came across some places where banks of grass grew on great heaps of rocks that had long ago broken free from the heights above.


At one time, 250,000 pairs of puffins bred here but they were exterminated by rats.


The rats were exterminated in the 1990 by poison and the puffins have now returned. In May 2008 we saw several hundred. Two years earlier we had seen only five!


Once past the puffin colony, we approach the brooding mass of Bare Stack. It was these still bare contours that took the brunt of the glacier which at one time scoured the Firth of Clyde. The spring air chilled as we enterd the shade of these heights.


High on the great overhanging cliff is a small ledge called the Eagle's Seat. The last breeding sea eagle was shot on Ailsa Craig in 1881. It measured seven feet from wing tip to wing tip and was displayed in Culzean Castle for many years. This year we saw sea eagles on Islay and the Mull of Kintyre.

One can only hope that like the puffins, they too will return to the rocky fastnesses of Ailsa.

05/05/2008