Giant’s Causeway is an iconic place! Fringed by the wild North Atlantic Ocean and dramatic cliffs,it’s a goldmine of spectacular natural beauty and legendary tales.
The 40,000 basalt stone columns left by volcanic eruptions 60 million years ago has captured the imagination of all who see it. But it derives its name from a local folklore, and some choose to believe the more fascinating fable that the causeway was built by the Irish giant Finn McCool.
According to the folklore when another giant Benandonner from Scotland threatened Ireland, Finn retaliated by tearing up great chunks of the Antrim coastline and hurling them into the sea building the causeway as a bridge to join Ireland and Scotland.
As it turned out Benandonner is a massive giant, much bigger than Finn, in order to save himself Finn retreats to Ireland and disguised as a baby with the help of his ingenious wife. On arriving Benandonner sees Finn disguised as a baby and realizes that if a mere baby is that big, the father must be far larger than Benandonner himself ! Benandonner fled back to Scotland destroying the causeway so Finn could not follow.
Humans settled around the Giant’s Causeway in the 19th century, but the site is now uninhabited the nearest village being Bushkill only 2 miles to the north. It does however attract some 300,000 tourists annually after it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.There are few hotels and inns and bed and breakfast facilities near the Causeway to host the tourists. It is about 1.5 hours’ drive from Belfast. Protected by National Trust the cliffs, seashores, marshes, and grasslands of Giant’s Causeway are home to some 50 species of birds, as well as to more than 200 species of plants.
There are lots of activities to do in Giant’s Causeway. You can explore the world-famous basalt columns distinctive stone formations accompanied by an experienced Ranger or you can follow the trails with an audio guide (Audio guide available in 11 languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Polish and Portuguese). There are several trails available you can choose from.
Blue Trail (Easy) : Blue Trail is of about 1.2Km leading directly to the world famous trails. It is kids friendly.
Red Trail (Moderate) : This 1.2 Km long trail offers the visitors with many unique viewing point .This clifftop trail gives you a bird view of the rocks.
Yellow Trail (Challenging): This 2.85 km trails starts at Runkerry Head and ends at Hamilton’s Seat marking the perimeter of World Heritage Site.
Green Trail (Moderate) : Green trail 3,2 km long and ideal in a over-crowded day to enjoy the view in tranquility .You will get views of the stones and clifftop walk and you can also spot wildlife on your way.
You can also book the Cliff top Experience walk with Away A Wee Walk, the National Trust and Northern Ireland tour company https://www.awayaweewalk.com/project/giants-causeway-cliff-path-tour/
Pre-booking essential for the Visitor Experience and the ticket includes reserved parking, guide, access to the state-of-the-art Visitor Centre featuring an illuminating exhibition showcasing the stories and the science behind the Giant’s Causeway, the shop, café and all facilities. Guided tour is also available for visitor reduced mobility or disability who are unable to walk to causeway stones independently .For booking go to https://www.nationaltrust-tickets.org.uk/tickets?branches.branchID=2473
There are a few surfing schools and Horse Farms in Causeway Coast that offers lessons on surfing ,stand up paddle boarding and horse riding incase you want to try your hands on them.
Nearest Accommodation
The Causeway Hotel
Call 028 2073 1210
Email causewayhotel.reception@nationaltrust.org.uk
Finn McCool’s Giants Causeway Hostel
Call (+44)(0) 7488596602
Email bookings@finnmccoolshostel.com
Website https://finnmccoolshostel.com/index.html
HOW TO GET THERE
There are a few ways to get to Giant’s Causeway, via tour, public transport or car. The fastest and most convenient way to get there is by tour, which travels directly to Giant’s Causeway. It’s a 60-mile journey from Belfast that takes around 90 minutes. And from Dublin it’s a 160-mile journey that lasts around 3 hours.
It’s also possible to travel with a combination of train and bus. This is a longer journey that involves more travel connections.
For more such interesting places visit our other blog post here.