Ailsa Craig - a day of endurance!

I felt a bit nervous but excited too catching the bus to Girvan Harbour today. My poor stomach was going round and round like a washing machine as I got on the bus. I had visions of me hurling up my sugar puffs at the other passengers on the boat! The pleasant bus journey to Girvan through Maybole, passed the entrance to Culzean Castle and Turnberry too and calmed me greatly though.

If dad had been still alive, I'm not sure he'd have been too thrilled at the thought of sitting in a little boat an hour and a half to travel to the island and get off there for an hour, repeating the exercise to get back again. This is despite the fact that he used to always admire Ailsa Craig from the Turnberry hole by the lighthouse. He loved his golf. There are plenty of pictures of the little island around the house too.

I felt like a little old lady on wobbly stick legs just getting into the boat with the other people. It was fairly calm when we set off but I could still hear 'Nearer thy God' going through my head for most of the journey which was played by the musicians as the Titanic sank!

I must admit that the voyage out there was pretty good and I soon forgot my fear and the feeling that I was going to be tossed into the waves any minute. The green face of the teenage girl opposite took my mind off things too. I only used half of the swear words known to the human race. I saved the others for the journey back.....

I was quite pleased when we arrived and I was able to get out of the boat a lot more elegantly than I'd gotten in with my little back pack and big umbrella - who else in their right mind would bring an umbrella to Ailsa Craig? - and I set off up the hill. The bird side of the island is where the cliffs are. A party of rock climbers would be dropped off there the next day to climb to the very top getting bombed and splattered on the way I was told.

I picked my way over to the little lighthouse and wandered around as far as I could keeping an eye on my watch taking pictures and then headed back and got back into the empty boat myself and watched the others running down the hill from different sides. My picture was taken from the bird covered cliffs round the other side of the island about 5 minutes before it got really wild and we were all completely soaked from head to foot by gigantic waves! It was the wildest, most nerve jangling thing I have ever done. The journey back was pretty silent after that with only the noisy engine and the occasional swear word was being heard. Everyone was pleased to get back!

I am really glad I've done it and felt exhilarated afterwards (as well as cold and wet) but I know that I probably won't do that trip again. I'll post a link to the other pictures tomorrow.

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Track? The Waterboys today - This Is The Sea