I had booked my Game of Thrones tour because I knew that it would not only hit the highlights of the show’s filming in the region, but that it would take me to a couple of bucket list UNESCO sites along Northern Ireland’s coast. Giant’s Causeway would be one of them. It’s a short 1km walk to reach the actual site and when the causeway came into view my mind immediately produced a quote from the book/movie Pride and Prejudice, “what are men compared to rocks and mountains?” This place is a wonder!
If you are a more rational person, these pillar like structures are the bi-product of volcanic activity where lava/basal pushed up through chalk beds and formed a plateau. When it cooled, it contracted and “broke” into the large pillar like structures you see. The number of sides to the pillars vary, as does the size, but some are up to 12 meters tall. Seems plausible right? But the locals like to share the legend and folklore surrounding this site.
According to the legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. As the story goes, an Irish giant was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant. The Irish giant accepted and built the causeway across the North Channel so they could meet and duel. There are a variety of versions of this story. One includes a giant playing a baby to trick the other and one reverses the challengers and victors, and both include the destruction of the causeway to keep the other at bay. But know this, these formations are replicated in Scotland as well, so who knows. It could have happened right?
Whether geology or folklore, this site is worthy of its UNESCO status and is a magical place to contemplate whether men compare to rocks! (Typed the single girl with a smirk!)