Ailsa Craig

written by
Robert Wilson

I am probably breaking two rules here. First off I am showing you one of my holiday snaps and worse than that it's a sunset…

I have been photographing Ailsa Craig from Lendalfoot in Ayrshire for many years and I have many photographs of it.  This is the first time I have managed to capture the line of sea mist which forms on the sea in good weather.  In that part of the country they say; ‘When Ailsa Craig’s got on its tie, then you’re sure it’s going to be dry’.  This sea mist is the tie they are talking about.

The alternative is when the top of the Craig is covered in cloud it is said; ‘When Ailsa Craig’s got on its hat, then you're sure it’s going to be wat’.  (wet).

I cannot leave it there without quoting my own personal favourite.  ‘When you can see Ailsa Craig it’s going to rain, and when you can’t see it, it is raining!’

Ailsa Craig is an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is the volcanic plug of an extinct volcano that might have been active about 500 million years ago.  There is also one on the east coast of Scotland called the Bass Rock. Ailsa Craig is 338 meters (1,109 feet) high and 16km (10 miles) from Girvan. It has a lighthouse on the east coast facing the mainland and a ruined keep about one third of the way up the same side.

The tie can often be seen during the day in good weather but it is seldom seen as the sun begins to set because it gets colder. This was taken about 8pm on a very warm summers evening in early July this year and the backlight really shows off the beauty of the ‘tie’.
The Mull of Kintyre can just be seen through the mist.

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