AILSA CRAIG - THE WORLD'S BEST GRANITE
Kays Curling have the sole rights to harvest
Ailsa Craig granite for curling rock production.
Kays have the sole lease to remove the only known source of the following 3 granites, Ailsa Craig Common Green Granite, Ailsa Craig Blue Hone Granite and Ailsa Craig Red Hone Granite in the world.
It is these rich natural resources that allow us to provide the world's best curling rocks.
Harvesting between 1600 tons of Ailsa Craig Common Green granite and 400 tons of Ailsa Craig Blue Hone granite is an operation that takes place as required.
The granite is then transported to the mainland by boat to be stored in our secure facility until we start the process of transforming the granite boulders into the finished rocks.
AILSA CRAIG - LOCATION AND HISTORY
From the mid-19th centuries, the island was quarried for its rare type of granites,
Ailsa Craig Common Green, Ailsa Craig Blue Hone and Ailsa Craig Red Hone.
Sitting in the Firth of Clyde the profile of Ailsa Craig is easily recognised when viewed from the Ayrshire coast. Approximately 10 miles from Girvan it is nearly two miles in circumference and rises to 1,110 feet (338m). The island was formed as a result of intense volcanic activity 60 million years ago.
As a result of being a strategic landmark in the channel between Ireland and Scotland the island has a long history going back to the late 1500s when a castle was
built to protect the island from Spanish invaders.
The island was used as a prison during the 18th-19th century. The floor of the Chapel of the Thistle in St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh is also made of Ailsa Craig Common Green granite.
Ailsa Craig is uninhabited and is now a bird sanctuary and home to large numbers of various species of birds including gannets, razorbills, kittiwakes, herring gulls, shags, fulmars, puffins and black-backed gulls.
Read more about Ailsa Craig on Wikipedia
KAYS CURLING ROCK TRADE IN DEAL
Full market value for your old rocks when traded in against Kays Olympic standard rocks.
KAYS CURLING - Manufacturer and supplier of the best curling rocks in the world made from Ailsa Craig Granite.