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Giant's Causeway

United Kingdom / Northern Ireland / Bushmills / Causeway Road, 44
 causeway, UNESCO World Heritage Site, natural monument, National Trust property (UK), tourist attraction

44 Causeway Road
Bushmills BT57 8SU, UK
Province: Ulster
Phone: +44 28 2073 1855
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway

The Giant's Causeway is an area of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns resulting from a volcanic eruption over 60 million years ago. It is located about 2 miles (3km) north of the town of Bushmills in County Antrim, Northern Ireland along the northeast coast of Ireland. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 (by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland). In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, Giant's Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. It's the centerpoint of many famous photos, notably the cover of the Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy. The Giant's Causeway is owned and managed by the National Trust. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, however there are some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (36 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places.

Legend has it that the Irish giant Finn McCool built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Finn McCool fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he didn't arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Finn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over Finn and pretended he was actually Finn's baby son (in a variation, Finn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby.) In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Finn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Finn.

The Scottish side of the causeway on the isle of Staffa has similar basalt formations at the site of Fingal's Cave that are part of the same ancient lava flow.

Picture by daveyoung www.flickr.com/photos/daveyoung/8842984 (cc-by-nd)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HOTHcover.JPG = Cover of the Led Zeppelin album Houses Of The Holy.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   55°14'21"N   6°30'46"W

Comments

  • the ultimate arsenal fan (guest)
    history at its best
  • Giga bajit (guest)
    It was Fionn not Finn! but History at it's best!
  • srevi101
    beautiful place. Crazy to think your standing on such a famous place. Very close to Scotland. It used to be a landbridge before the ice age and connected Britain and Ireland.