Aisla Craig, home to curling stones, birds, and a bit more

October 16, 2015 2:25 PM

Not just any rock: curling stones' special granite comes from Scotland

From the study of his run down house, David B. Smith pointed to where the sea crashed against the west coast of Scotland. "Out there," he said, "is Ailsa Craig." Not even a dot on the horizon could be spotted, but the 73-year-old retired judge and curling historian extraordinaire knew the exact location of the island that supplies the granite for the Olympic curling stones.

Ailsa Craig is where curling stones are born, but also a protected bird sanctuary, and home to a historic light house and golf course.

The island was up for sale for a number of years, and in 2011 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland stressed importance of Ailsa Craig, but were not in negotiations to purchase iconic landmark. Two years later, The Guardian reported that a sale was pending to an undisclosed party, but by June of 2014, the sale was still up in the air, in part due to the separate ownership of the property and the island itself.

Back to the Common Green and Blue Hone granite: How are curling stones made? (How It's Made)

posted by filthy light thief (10 comments total)

my greatⁿ-grandfathers were curling stone and curling shoe makers in Ayrshire. But even they might have stopped short of Hand-knitted curling sweaters ...
posted by scruss at 2:54 PM on October 16, 2015 [3 favorites]

God, if I had the money I would be happy to live there.
posted by bird internet at 3:21 PM on October 16, 2015

my greatⁿ-grandfathers were curling stone and curling shoe makers in Ayrshire. But even they might have stopped short of Hand-knitted curling sweaters ...

Don't forget, at one point, all sweaters were hand-knit.

Also, the Curling History blog is a deep source of curling history of all sorts.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:44 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

There's a good view of Ailsa Craig from the Belfast-Cairnryan ferry, if it's a fine day.
posted by Azara at 4:07 PM on October 16, 2015

My curling league season starts up on Sunday, so this will be grist for broomstacking.
posted by sonascope at 4:51 PM on October 16, 2015

I was just in Ailsa Craig on Thanksgiving, well, an Ailsa Craig. I knew the original was in Scotland, but not that it was such an interesting and important place.
posted by Flashman at 5:10 PM on October 16, 2015

I was just in Ailsa Craig on Monday, well, an Ailsa Craig. I knew the original was in Scotland, but not that it was such an interesting and important place.

I seriously thought this post was about that Ailsa Craig, which is surely familiar to everyone who has driven from the midwestern US to the Stratford Festival.
posted by hoyland at 5:15 PM on October 16, 2015

Not to mention this Alisa Craig, who took the name after the Canadian location, not the Scottish one.
posted by dannyboybell at 8:23 PM on October 16, 2015

I'm just happy that there's a website listing Lighthouses for sale or rent.
posted by monotreme at 11:10 PM on October 16, 2015

Um, the golf course is on the mainland looking out towards Ailsa Craig, not actually on the island.
posted by knapah at 8:42 AM on October 17, 2015