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PHOTO ESSAY: Scottish island Ailsa Craig is the granite source for Olympic curling stones
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The island of Ailsa Craig, where the two types of granite, Common Green and Blue Hone, that are used to make curling stones is quarried from, is seen from the beach at Girvan, Scotland, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. - photo by AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Ailsa Craig is an uninhabited isle off the coast of southwest Scotland and the source of the super-dense granite used to make curling stones for the Winter Olympics. It features both “common green” granite comprising the body of the stone and the “blue hone” granite that forms the running surface. Local company Kays Curling makes all the the curling stones for the Milan Cortina Winter Games.