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The Girvan Boat Trips can be about one
hour out to Ailsa Craig, one hour on the
island, a half hour tour round the island
to see the Seals and thousands of Birds
nesting on the steep Cliffs on the west
side, then about a one hour trip back to
Girvan.
Another Trip allows three hours on the
island for Hikers wanting to hike to the
top. There is only one way to the top, up
past the Castle following a steep narrow
trail. The trail from the Castle up to
the Summit is through deep ferns much of
the way, so is not the easiest of hiking,
but well worth the effort.
Photos of the island were donated by
Ann Bowker.
View more excellent large photos of
another Trip to the Island.
Below is the History of Ailsa Craig as
far as I can make out:
Documents from the early 1400s show
Crossraguel Abbey as the earliest
recorded owner of the Island. Duncan de
Carrick, one of the first Kennedy's,
largest land owners in southwest
Scotland, with many Castles, funded the
building of Crossraguel Abbey in the 1200s.
At that time, he signed over vast amounts
of Land to the Monks so they could fund
the running of the Abbey, probably Ailsa
Craig at that time as well.
In August 1560, the Scottish
Parliament passed a series of Acts to
dismantle the Catholic Church in
Scotland, the start of Protestantism. A
Commendator was appointed to each Abbey
at that time, to run the finances while
the Monks lived out their lives in the
Abbey's. This was when the powerful
Landowners began taking the Land back
from the Abbeys, sometimes by ruthless
means.
The Kennedy's of Cassillis, took the
Commendator of Crossraguel Abbey to their
Castle at Dunure, and roasted him over a
fire in an attempt to have him sign over
Abbey Land to them, setting off a
murderous fued over the following
years.
The Kennedy's of Cassillis owned the
Island from around that time, until they
sold Cassillis Estate in 2009, to
Confused.com founder Kate Armstrong. It
is un-clear if it is Kate Armstrong that
now owns the Island, and has put Ailsa
Craig up for Sale for £2,5000,000.
The Castle is said to have been built
by the Hamilton's, relations of the
Kenneday's, in the late 1500s.
Large
Image of the Lighthouse from about
500ft
Large Image
of Ailsa Craig Castle
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