The south coast of Ailsa Craig.

 We set off on a clockwise circumnavigation of Ailsa Craig. Soon the rusting horn of...

 ...the Victorian south fog horn came in view.

The shore here consists of massive sharp edged granite boulders, which are the result of previous granite quarrying for curling stone manufacture.

 A little further on and the clean rock of the cliffs plunged straight into the sea as we...

 ...made our way past...

 ...the Trammins cliffs and Little Ailsa towards Stranny Point.

As we neared the point, Phil and I hung back to let Mike turn the point first. We wanted him to experience the maximum effect of discovering one of the natural wonders of the British Isles....

A slip under the watchful eye of Mina.

 As we started our steep descent of Ailsa Craig...

 ...I was glad that Mike and I had brought walking poles.

 Mike soon forged ahead and arrived at...

 ...the castle before Phil and I. Unfortunately my left knee dislocated twice on the way down and I had two heavy falls, which hurt my hips. However, it was marvellous to be able to be out in this wonderful place. I could have stayed home and watched telly.

As we descended the fishing fleet were trawling round and round the Craig. This is Golden Ray, B963. She is registered in Belfast but her home port is Portavogie.

 This is Ambitious, B420. She is registered in Belfast but her home port is Portavogie.

Keeping a watchful eye on all this fishing activity was MPV Minna. She was built at Ferguson's Shipyard Port Glasgow and was launched in 2003. She is 42 metres in length and has a gross tonnage of 781. She has a crew of 15, a top speed of 14 knots and is used mainly for inshore fishery enforcement tasks.