RHH's photos with the keyword: giant's causeway

These are tops of some of the basalt columns at Giant's Causeway. It is for these columns that the area is the most popular tourist destination in Northern Ireland.

Giant's Causeway is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Northern Ireland coast. It's columnar basalt formations are remarkable, though they are not found only at this location. We hiked there three times from our guest house at Portballintrae.

These are the basalt formations for which Giant's Causeway is famous. The formations are found also on the other side of the sea in Scotland as well as at other locations on the Northern Ireland coast.

We are still in Northern Ireland. We hiked to the Giant's Causeway last week on a windy and raw day but intend to go back on a sunnier day. The Giant's Causeway is one of the most scenic areas along the north coast of Northern Ireland and is known for these wonderful columnar basalt formations. It is known as the Giant's Causeway in connection with an old legend. "Legend has it that long ago when Goliaths roamed what is now known as the British Isles, they battled each other fiercely to expand their personal kingdoms. Irish giant Finn MacCool was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Finn accepted the challenge and built a land bridge, a Giant’s Causeway, across the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland to attack Benandonner. Upon completion, Finn headed across the Giant’s Causeway but when he caught sight of Benandonner he realized his foe was a much larger giant so he hid while he rethought his strategy. Finn’s wife, Úna, cleverly dressed him as a baby and laid him in a cradle at the Irish end of the Giant’s Causeway. When Benandonner advanced and saw the huge “baby,” he assumed the baby’s father, Finn, was a giant among giants and promptly ran back to Scotland in fear, destroying the Giant’s Causeway behind him so Finn couldn’t follow."

Giant's Causeway is a few miles from the guesthouse where we are staying with our daughter. We hiked there last week on a windy and cloudy day and then also hiked the cliffs above the causeway. The causeway is known for this wonderful columnar basalt formations.

"The Giant's Causeway (or Irish: Clochán na bhFómharach) is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim, on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about two miles (3 km) north of the town of Bushmills. 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, the Giant's Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. 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, although there are also 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. The Giant's Causeway is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland. Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn 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, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn. Another variation is that Oonagh painted a rock shaped like a steak and gave it to Benandonner, whilst giving the baby (Fionn) a normal steak. When Benandonner saw that the baby was able to eat it so easily, he ran away, tearing up the causeway. The 'causeway' legend corresponds with geological history in as much as there are similar basalt formations (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at the site of Fingal's Cave on the isle of Staffa in Scotland." - Wikipedia. The main area of the Causeway which includes the largest number of basalt columns is shown in this photo, taken from the cliffs above. This photo was taken by my wife.

Please see my other pictures of the Causeway for a more complete descrition of this wonderful and scenic area of the north coast of Northern Ireland.