page_title: Ailsa Craig
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ailsa Craig / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Ailsa Craig in the 1840s. Clyde. Scotland.
context_page_description: Ailsa Craig is an island of 99 hectares in the outer Firth of Clyde, 16 kilometres west of mainland Scotland, upon which blue hone granite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now uninhabited island is formed from the volcanic plug of an extinct volcano.
  The island, colloquially known as "Paddy's milestone", was a haven for Catholics during the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, but is today a bird sanctuary, providing a home for huge numbers of gannets and an increasing number of puffins.
context_section_description: In 1590 the shipping of the Clyde was disrupted by pirates who were said to be Highlanders, quha lyis about Ailsay.
  In 1831, The 12th Earl of Cassilis became first Marquess of Ailsa, taking the title from the Craig, which was his property.
  An annual hunt of the solan geese or gannets took place in the days of Robert Burns as the flesh was considered a delicacy. Robert Burns's maternal uncle, Samuel Burns was involved in the solan goose trade.
caption: Ailsa Craig as drawn in the 1840s
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