Ailsae Craig
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Ailsae Craig[6] (Inglis: Ailsa Craig Scots Gaelic: Creag Ealasaid) is ae isle o 99 hectare (240 acre) in the ooter Firth o Clyde, 16 kilometre (9.9 mi) frae mainland Scotland, fae whit blue hone granite wis quarried tae mak curlin stanes.[7][8] Aa the stanes uised in the Olympics come fae Ailsae Craig.[9] The stanes is honed in Mauchline across the watter, sin 1851, bi Kay's Curling, wha wir alane in uisin the granite, bi coortesy o the laird, the Marquess o Ailsa.[10]
The nou uninhabitit isle is formed frae the volcanic plug o an extinct volcano,[11] an is 340m hicht. It can bi seen frae GlenApp Castle in Sooth Ayrshire. It is hame tae ane o the warld's biggest colony o the solan guiss. It his bin cried 'Paddy's Milestane' fur it is haufweys atween Glesgae an Belfast. There is a lichthoose bit unmanned sin 1990, an its narrow-gauge railwey isnae uised ony mair. In the saxteent yeirhunner Hugh Barclay o Ladyland attemptit tae mak it a place o haud fir Catholics.[10]
The rock is mentioned in the Burns sang Duncan Gray, ti confer the deafness o the chiel's wife Meg.[12] It is mentioned in a poem (in Inglis) fur bairns anent the luik o the clouds oan the tap:
"When Ailsa Craig has on its coat,
The Weather will be very hot.
When Ailsa Craig has on its hat,
You can be sure it will be wet.
When Ailsa Craig has on its tie,
That's a sign its going to be dry"[13]
John Keats spikks tae 'a craggy ocean pyramid' an says 'Drown’d wast thou till an earthquake made thee steep', in his poem "To Ailsa Rock."[14]
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References
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