Marriage milestone
Couple are first to get wed on isolated Ailsa Craig
AN uninhabited, windswept outcrop ten miles off the coast of Ayrshire is far from an obvious choice as a dream wedding venue.
But Jim and Angela Lindrop braved the elements to become the first couple to wed on the island of Ailsa Craig.
The pair, who have been together for 20 years, planned their unusual wedding in the space of four weeks after deciding they wanted to do ‘something a bit different’ for their big day.
Mr Lindrop, a retired electronics engineer, had to get special permission from the Marquess of Ailsa, the owner of the island, to hold his dream wedding and had to persuade the local registrar to join them on the isle to perform the ceremony.
The manager of nearby Glenapp Castle, where the couple stayed the evening before the wedding, also accompanied them on their trip to the rocky outcrop, known as ‘Paddy’s milestone’ because it is halfway between Glasgow and Belfast, as the crow flies.
The ceremony was conducted by Caroline Agnew from South Ayrshire Registrars Office.
Mr Lindrop, 60, said: ‘It took a little persuasion getting the local registrar to head up Ailsa Craig in mid-winter and with four weeks’ notice but she admirably rose to the occasion.’
Mrs Lindrop, 61, donned a pair of sturdy hiking boots, while the groom was kitted out in ski-wear.
After a windswept ceremony on December 20, they popped open a bottle of bubbly, heard a history of the island and were shown its only residents – the seals.
Mr Lindrop added: ‘We had to get wed in a unique way and thought why not take a boat out? We spoke to the registrar, who said he couldn’t marry us until 2018 but I told him it had to be this year. So we arranged it in four weeks. We had to get permission from the Marquess of Ailsa. It was wonderful.’
Mrs Lindrop, a retired teaching assistant, said: ‘We have been together for 20 years and both previously been married. We wanted something a bit different and we are outdoors, adventurous people. It was wonderful and magical, the weather was just perfect and the island is so beautiful.
‘We started to walk up the hill and then about halfway up we decided to stop and that’s where we took our vows.’
The couple from Sheffield, Yorkshire, travelled north of the Border in their campervan, telling only Mrs Lindrop’s sons and Mr Lindrop’s daughters about their plans.
The island, which has provided the rare type of granite needed to make curling stones since the mid-1800s, is up for sale for £1.5million.