AILSA Craig, the island put up for sale last year, has been taken back off the market.

The 245-acre rocky outcrop, which lies 10 miles west of Girvan on the Ayrshire coast, is home to the granite used for Olympic gold medal-winning curling stones and has colonies of protected birds.

But even those rare selling points have not been enough to persuade anyone to part with £2.5million.

It was put up for sale last year by owner Charles Kennedy, the eighth Marquess of Ailsa, but has failed to lure a buyer.

Known as Paddy's Milestone, the Craig is home to 70,000 birds. including gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and herring gulls, and is managed as an RSPB Nature Reserve by agreement with the marquess.

The new owner would have been able to command a rent of about £26,000 a year.

The RSPB, which has managed the island for more than 25 years, said it had no immediate plans to buy the island.

Dr Dave Beaumont, RSPB Scotland regional reserves manager, said: "RSPB Scotland is not aware Ailsa Craig has been taken off the market.

"We have been managing Ailsa Craig as a nature reserve since 2004 and are very proud to be the leaseholder of such a magnificent island.

"However, we are not in a position to buy it at the current asking price."

Ailsa Craig is about two miles wide and rises 1100ft above the sea.

The firm that makes curling stones has a lease to extract 'blue hone' granite from a quarry on the island.

It was from here the curling stones used by the Scottish Women's Curling Team – Winter 2002 Olympic Gold medal-winners – were made.

caroline.wilson@ eveningtimes.co.uk