About 40 thousand huge stone columns are so closely adjacent to each other that it seems that some giant, a hero of Irish myths and legends, installed them here. The diameter of these pillars is from 30 to 50 centimeters, they have smooth tops and several faces (a quarter has five, the rest have four, seven and even nine corners). The Trail of the Giants (or as it is also called - the Road of the Giants) is located in Northern Ireland near the small town of Bushmills. It surrounds the cliffs that are located on the Causeway Coast, and then gradually sinks under the water towards Scotland.
The scale of this amazing place is amazing. If you look at the Giant's Causeway from above, then it is really extremely similar to a stone-paved road that stretches along the coast for 275 meters and goes into the Atlantic for another one and a half hundred meters.
The average height of the pillars is approximately six meters, although it is not uncommon to see columns as high as twelve. If you look at them from above, they are somewhat reminiscent of a honeycomb, since they organize hexagons between themselves, which are so tightly located in relation to each other that it is rather difficult to stick even a thin knife between them.
Absolutely all pillars are dark in color and incredibly hard - scientists explain this natural phenomenon by the fact that they consist mainly of basalt rich in magnesium and iron, which at the same time has a small amount of quartz. Thanks to this composition, the columns are able to successfully withstand the destructive effects of winds and stormy waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Columns of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland form three groups of sites:
- Great trail. The columns of this group are the largest and begin near the rocky mountains. At first, they look like a cluster of huge stone steps, some of which reach up to six meters in height. Closer to the water, the steps gradually level out until they begin to form a stone-covered road that is 20 to 30 meters wide.
- Medium and Small trails. The pillars of these groups are located near the Great Path and, in shape, rather resemble mounds rather than a road. Since each such column has a flat top, it is possible to move carefully (especially near water, because there they are extremely wet and slippery) from one column to another.
- Staffa Island. At 130 km from the coast there is a small uninhabited island of Staffa (translated as “the island of pillars”), on which there is, as it were, the continuation of these columns. Between these pillars is the main attraction of the island - the huge Fingalovaya Cave, which is about 80 meters long.
Cliffs
The columns themselves on the Causeway Coast are located around the cliffs, which were later given rather original names by people. for example, two of them were named after Harp (the columns from this cliff descend in a curved line to the coast) and Organa (straight and high pillars that are located near it, very much resemble this musical instrument).
There are cliffs with interesting names like Giant's Loom, Giant's Coffin, Giant's Cannon, Giant's Eye. Here you can also look at the Giant's Shoe - a two-meter cobblestone that resembles these shoes (it was even calculated that a giant who wore such a product must have at least 16 meters in height).
Chimneys of the Giants' Trail
There is another interesting place on the Giants' Road - the Chimneys, which frightened the already defeated "Invincible Armada" several centuries ago.
This happened for a banal reason. Some pillars of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland not only rise on the coast, but from the sea look like the chimneys of a huge castle. The Spaniards confused him with him, and fired at "enemy territory" with cannons - that is, absolutely deserted territory.
This story for the Spaniards ended in tears: their ship crashed on the rocks, and many people died. The treasures found from the ship, after they were raised from the bottom of the sea, can now be seen in the Ulster Museum, which is located in Belfast.
Legend
It is not surprising that the Giant's Causeway has its own legends and myths that explain its appearance and formation.
The old Irish believed that the Giant's Causeway was built by the Irish giant Finn McCool in order to get to his sworn enemy, the Scotsman, who lived in the Hebrides, and fight him in order to decide which of them is stronger.
Further versions differ slightly from each other. According to one of them, seeing that his opponent is bigger and more powerful than him, Finn ran away. And when he saw that the Scotsman was pursuing him, he persuaded his wife to swaddle him like a child and leave him to sleep on the shore. According to another version, while the Irishman was building the road, he was so tired that he fell asleep on the coast, and his wife, seeing that a rival was approaching, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and passed him off as a child.
In any case, having seen a huge "baby", the Scottish giant decided that it was better not to get involved with his father and gave him a diru, and so that the Irishman would not catch up with him, destroyed the path.
Study of
Interestingly, the Giants' Causeway became widely known only at the end of the 17th century, when the Bishop of Derry began to actively advertise this amazing place. And at the beginning of the 19th century, tourists began to appear here en masse.
Despite the fact that this area has been declared a national reserve by the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment, there are absolutely no closed territories here, and tourists can walk wherever they want and where they can walk. This fact is quite popular with tourists in this country.
The Giants' Causeway is unique in that, despite the fact that something similar exists in other parts of the world, it is here that the largest concentration of such pillars is located. There is nothing surprising in the fact that for many centuries scientists have been debating how exactly the Path originated.
Some of them assured that the giant pillars are actually huge crystals that a long time ago appeared at the bottom of the ancient sea. Others said the pillars were actually petrified bamboo forest.
In our time, most scientists agree that once there was the largest lava plain in Europe. It was formed thanks to a huge layer of limestone, which is located under the territory of Northern Ireland. In ancient times, molten lava flowed out through its faults during volcanic eruptions, which covered the earth with a layer of 180 meters, after which it began to cool and solidify. And it did not become a shapeless mass because it was based on basalt.
After some time, during cooling, the lava began to slowly decrease in volume, and thanks to basalt, hexagonal cracks formed on its surface. As the inner layers of magma began to cool, these crevices began to deepen and form hexagonal columns.
This theory was confirmed by a group of scientists from Toronto, who after experiments were able to prove that the slower the magma cools, the larger the columns are. Thus, the secret of the appearance of such an amazing natural phenomenon as the Path of the Giants in Ireland was revealed ... Or not?
Giants' Road (Northern Ireland, UK) - detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.
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We can safely say that the Giant's Causeway (or the Giant's Trail, whichever is more to your liking) is a typical Irish attraction. Ireland is always associated with something mysterious, magical, mystical, and at the same time carefree fun. This bizarre combination is best reflected by the stone pillars extending into the ocean, the origin of which is explained, of course, by an ancient legend.
There are many legends and stories surrounding the appearance of these strange stone pillars. Here is the most popular version of the origin of the Giant's Causeway. A long time ago, a mighty Irishman named Finn McCumal lived in these parts, who decided to challenge the giant (and in addition, one-eyed) monster Goll. But to win, the brave Irishman had to never get his feet wet. Not possessing hefty strength, Finn drove the columns right into the bottom of the sea, thereby building himself a kind of bridge. But, despite his excellent physical shape, the hero got tired and fell asleep. Goll took advantage of this and crossed the bridge at that time. Finn's wife saved the situation and, in fact, the husband. She said that the sleeping McCumal was her child, and at the same time baked tortillas for the monster, in which there were pans as filling. Goll began to eat them and break his teeth, and to the awakened Finn, his wife gave him a regular cake. Seeing how he calmly ate the cake about which Goll himself was breaking his teeth, the so-called "baby", the monster fled in fear, preferring not to know what his father could do to him.
A long time ago, a mighty Irishman by the name of Finn McCumal lived in these parts, who decided to challenge the giant (and in addition, one-eyed) monster Goll ... This is how the legend about the origin of the fantastic Giant's Road begins.
During its shameful flight, the monster destroyed the bridge, the ruins of which we can contemplate today.
A much more boring version of the origin of the columns is voiced by scientists. Based on the scientific version of the origin of the columns, they were formed here about 50-60 million years ago as a result of a volcanic eruption, when lava fell directly into the river that flowed here in those distant times. The outer layers of lava quickly cooled down, pushing the bottom of the river with its weight, which gave rise to the shape of the columns.
The Giant's Causeway is located in Northern Ireland, on the Causeway Coast, 3 kilometers from the town of Bushmills. Basically, the columns are hexagonal, but you can find both four- and octagonal. The maximum height of one column is about 12 meters.
Although the Giant's Causeway has the status of a reserve, there are no strict prohibitions and limits for visitors. Throughout the territory, tourists can walk anywhere (and there is where to walk here). From the coastal cliffs, wonderful sea panoramas open up, which, it seems, can be admired endlessly. The trail belongs to a non-profit organization that performs the functions of regulating visits to the Road and its protection.
How to visit
The Giants' Causeway can be reached by tourist bus from the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast - a distance of 100 kilometers, or from Bushmills - just 3 kilometers. It is possible to get to the Road from Belfast or Londonderry by train. There is a steam railway from Bushmills to the Trail.
This place is not called in Northern Ireland! Path of the Giants, The Bridge of Giants, The Road of the Giants ... It looks like someone's powerful hands have driven many hexagonal piles into the Causeway Coast to build a huge bridge across the sea.
Looking at this miracle of nature, one involuntarily asks the question: weren't the aliens marked on the tip of the Emerald Isle?
STONE FORTRESS
The scale of this mysterious building is amazing. If you look at it from above, it really looks like a stone-paved road that stretches along the coast for 275 meters and goes into the Atlantic for another one and a half hundred meters.
The columns sometimes rush up, reaching a height of 12 meters, and sometimes they go down to 6 meters. Their total number is about 40 thousand. Most of them have a hexagonal cut on the cut, but you can also find four-, five-, seven- and nine-cornered columns. The diameter of the pillars ranges from 30 to 60 centimeters, they all have smooth tops.
From above, the stone pillars are somewhat reminiscent of a honeycomb, they are so tightly pressed against each other. Even a thin knife cannot be inserted between them.
Absolutely all pillars are dark in color, and all are incredibly solid. According to scientists, they consist mainly of basalt rich in magnesium and iron, which at the same time has a small amount of quartz. Thanks to this composition, the columns are able to successfully withstand the destructive effects of winds and stormy waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
THREE HEROES
The columns form three groups of sites. One group - the so-called Great Trail - are the largest pillars starting near the rocky mountains. At first, they look like a cluster of huge stone steps, some of which are 6 meters high. Closer to the water, the steps gradually level out until they begin to form a stone-covered road that is 20 to 30 meters wide.
The second group of stones is the Middle and Small paths. These trails are located near the Great Trail and, in shape, are more like mounds than a road. Since each pillar has a flat top, it is possible to move carefully (especially near water, because they are extremely wet and slippery) from one pillar to another.
This is what tourists use, who for the sake of such an attraction come here to distant lands.
Finally, the third group of stone giants lives on the island of Staffa (translated as "the island of pillars"). The island is located at a distance of 130 meters from the coast and continues the main theme of the Causeway Coast. There, on the island, the main attraction is located - the huge Fingal's cave.
This is a real Lost World. Firstly, you still need to get to the island, and the sea there is northern, restless, unpredictable. Secondly, the island is uninhabited, there are no benefits of civilization. Thirdly, climbing the island is also not easy, because it consists of tall basalt columns, similar to the Viking houses. The height above sea level at the highest point reaches 42 meters.
The entire coast is heavily indented and consists of numerous caves. Only in one place, in the south, the coast is more or less gentle. Fingal's cave is just there. The height of the cave reaches 30 meters, its length is 75 meters. The acoustics of the cave are unique, the sounds of the surf are heard throughout the cave, creating live music, as if in a concert hall, therefore Fingal's Cave is also called the Singing Cave.
By the way, the island of Staffa is considered the territory of Scotland. A wooden deck has been built for visitors to walk around the cave. There is no other way to visit it. Despite the fact that water splashes at the bottom of the cave, the entrance to the cave is so narrow that boats cannot penetrate there.
The "pillared" halls of Staffa Island and the Causeway Coast, despite their remoteness from each other, appear to be a single architectural ensemble. It seems that some intelligent creature wanted to build a huge stone bridge from Staffa Island to the Causeway Coast, but either it did not calculate its own strength, or the weather failed. In general, the mystery of nature.
SHAME SPAIN
Let's go back to the Causeway Coast. The columns are located around the cliffs, the names of which are each more bizarre. For example, two of them were named after musical instruments: Harps (columns from this cliff descend in a curved line towards the coast) and Organa (straight and high pillars that are located near it, very much resemble this musical instrument).
There are cliffs with interesting names like Giant's Loom, Giant's Coffin, Giant's Cannons, Giant's Eyes. Here you can also look at the Giant's Shoe - a two-meter cobblestone that really resembles a shoe. It has even been calculated that a giant who wore such shoes must be at least 16 meters tall.
And another interesting place on the Road of Giants is the Chimneys, which a few centuries ago frightened the already defeated Invincible Armada.
This happened for a banal reason. Some of the pillars of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland do not just rise on the coast, but from the sea look like the chimneys of a huge castle. The Spaniards confused him with him and fired at enemy territory from cannons, that is, absolutely deserted land.
In short, they screwed up to the fullest. This battle for the Spaniards ended in tears: their ship crashed on the rocks, many people died. Artifacts in the Ulster Museum in Belfast speak of that sad episode for Spanish history. They got there after they were raised from the bottom of the sea.
STONE BABY
The Irish have noteworthy legends regarding the origin of the Giant's Trail. One of them was composed by the Celts. In their opinion, the giant stone road was built by the Irish giant - Finn McCool. On it, he wanted to cross the sea and fight with his old rival, the Scottish giant Ben Benandonner. When he got to the enemy, he saw that Ben was bigger and stronger, and gave a fight.
But it was too late. The Scotsman had already spotted him, got angry and set off in pursuit. Apparently, out of fear, Finn figured out how to take a powerful enemy by cunning. He asked his wife to swaddle him like a baby and leave him to sleep on the beach.
Seeing such a huge child, the Scotsman thought: what is the father then? And in fear he fled home. And out of impotence he decided to destroy the path behind him in order to somehow harm the overseas giant. It is noteworthy that until the 17th century this legend was considered completely fictional, until the Bishop of Derry rediscovered the Path of the Giants, which then immediately became an Irish landmark.
FROM LAVA
The Giant's Causeway is a one-of-a-kind structure. There are no analogues in the world. It is not surprising that scientists have long debated how exactly the path originated. Some experts assured that the giant pillars are in fact huge crystals that a long time ago appeared at the bottom of the ancient sea. The sea retreated, and the pillars were on the surface.
Others said that the pillars were actually petrified bamboo forest. Supposedly in antiquity it was so warm here that exotic plants grew. Then the climate changed, it got cold, and the trees turned to stone. An alien version was also considered, but only by esotericists, scientists rejected it. In the end, everyone agreed that the volcano was to blame.
About 60 million years ago, a powerful eruption took place here. The lava burst outward through a thick layer of limestone and covered the ground with a layer of 180 meters. After some time, while cooling, the lava began to slowly decrease in volume, and thanks to basalt, hexagonal cracks formed on its surface. As the inner layers of magma began to cool, these crevices began to deepen and form hexagonal columns.
This theory was confirmed by a group of scientists from Toronto, who after experiments were able to prove that the slower the magma cools, the larger the columns are. The secret of the emergence of such an amazing natural phenomenon as the Giant's Trail in Ireland has been revealed ... Or not?
Natalia BYKOVA
The Giants Trail is located on the northern coast of Ireland, 100 km northwest of Belfast, about 3 km north of Bushmills and is famous for its unique landscape.
The set of stone pillars standing next to each other forms a semblance of a road that seems to be paved with unusual stone blocks. There are many variations of the legend about the origin of the Giants' Trail, and we will tell you one of them.
Long ago, when giants lived on Earth, the giant Fin McCool living in these parts wanted to measure strength with the giant Benandonner and challenged him to battle. The vain Benandonner accepted the challenge, wanting to teach the impudent Phin a lesson, and got ready to go.
The rivals were separated by the sea, and in order to be in the possession of Fin, Benandonner began to drive huge pillars into the seabed, creating a kind of bridge. He spent a lot of time and effort, but still got to the other side and decided to take a nap before the upcoming fight.
Finn McCool's wife was walking along the coastal strip and suddenly noticed Benandonner sleeping. Assessing that the rival of her husband is bigger and stronger, she decided to go for a trick and swaddled her giant husband like a baby.
When Benandonner came to their house and saw such a "child", he was seriously scared: after all, if this is just a child, then what mighty father does he have ?! And Benandonner had no choice but to run back to his lands, simultaneously destroying a bridge of columns behind him.
The origin of the Path of the Giants could be explained not only by local legends, but also by scientists. In their opinion, the anomalously symmetrical pillars were formed during a volcanic eruption more than 50 million years ago. As a result of chemical reactions, pressure and layering, the lava has turned into regular hexagons that we can contemplate at the present time.
Another attraction of the Giant's Trail is the so-called "chimneys". Under the influence of erosion and weathering, some of the pillars began to rise above the others and from the side resemble the chimneys of an ancient castle. The Spanish warship "Girona", fleeing after the defeat of the "Invincible Armada" in 1588, fired several volleys of cannons on the cliff, as the Spaniards mistook it for an enemy castle.
This picturesque place inspired the creative people of the 19th century: artists, writers and even musicians. Naturalist Joseph Banks, who has visited the Giant's Trail more than once, once said: “Compared to this, what are man-made cathedrals and palaces? Just toy houses. "
Video - Path of the Giant
Again, nature is showing us one of its phenomenal tricks. On the coast of the northern part of Northern Ireland (forgive the tautology, but that's the way it is) is the Giant's Causeway. This unique natural phenomenon looks like unusual pillars, the section of which is very similar to a honeycomb.
The pillars (or columns) are so tightly pressed against each other that even a knife cannot be stuck between them. Large stones in the walls of the ancient city of Sacsayhuaman are fitted in about the same way, with the only difference that people did it there, and here is nature.
Giant's Road on the map
- Geographic coordinates 55.240684, -6.511417
- Distance from the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast, about 80 km
- Distance to the nearest airport Darry about 50 km
It should be noted that Northern Ireland is an administrative part of Great Britain, and not a separate state.
The Giant's Causeway is located 3 kilometers north of the town of Bushmills.
This landmark has about 40,000 basalt columns interconnected. Most of the pillars are hexagonal, but there are also four, five, seven and octagonal examples. Their height reaches 12 meters. The diameter of the pillars is from 30 to 50 cm.
Considering this unusual natural structure, it is hard to believe that it appeared by chance. According to the official version of scientists, such extraordinary columns arose after a volcanic eruption in ancient times. 50-60 million years ago active volcanic phenomena took place here. Streams of molten basalt have formed huge lava fields. With rapid cooling, the volume of the substance decreased, and horizontal compression contributed to the appearance of such geometrically regular structures.
There is also a hypothesis according to which the Giant's Road was formed as a result of convection of viscous matter in conditions of cooling of the upper layers.
Locals, of course, associate the appearance of this structure with an ancient legend.
It says that the hero of Celtic myths, warrior, sage and seer Finn McCumal decided to measure strength with a huge one-eyed monster named Goll, who lived in Scotland. But due to some absurd accident or random absurdity, the heroic hero ... was afraid to get his feet wet. Finn had to drive a whole lot of columns into the bottom of the sea - it turned out to be a kind of bridge to the neighboring island. He was very tired and decided to sleep well before the battle. While our hero was peacefully dreaming, Goll, without waiting for his opponent, himself came to visit him across the already built bridge. He was met by Uma, Finn's wife. Judging by the name, the lady was not stupid. She cheated a little: pointing at her sleeping husband, she said that he was her child. As you can imagine, the size of this comrade did not at all resemble a child. Uma sat the giant at the table and began to treat him to flat cakes, in which she had previously baked iron pans. The other cakes (without the pans inside) she set aside for her husband. When Goll began to break his teeth, eating his treat, Finn woke up calmly eating his cakes "by both cheeks." Realizing that if the baby is like that !!!, then his dad will be completely invincible, Goll runs away in panic and destroys the bridge along the way, cutting off the path for pursuit.
Whether the Giant's Road appeared as the myth says or as scientists assume is not so important. The main thing is that now we have another unsolved and therefore very attractive natural landmark.
The Giant's Causeway runs more than 270 meters along the coast and about 150 meters along the seabed. All columns are very solid and have a dark color. This is due to the high content of magnesium and iron in their composition. Such a mixture of substances is practically not subject to the destructive action of sea waves and wind.
Cliffs with original names are located near the Giant's Causeway. Harp Cliff - its columns are curved and descend to the shore. Organa Cliff, whose pillars are straight and very similar to this huge musical instrument.
There are also the cliffs of the Giant's Loom, the Coffin and the Giant's Eyes. The Giant's Shoe can still be seen here. It is a huge shoe-shaped boulder 2 meters high.
- in 1986, UNESCO declared the Giant's Causeway and the Causeway Coast, where it is located, a World Heritage Site, and only a year later, the Department of Environmental Protection granted this site the status of a National Reserve
- despite the fact that the Giant's Causeway has been here for thousands, and possibly millions of years, it gained wide popularity only in the 17th century from the stories of the Bishop of Derry. And only at the beginning of the 19th century, the first tourists came here
- access for tourists is nowhere and is not limited in any way
- in Scotland, on the island of Staffa, there is a unique one, the walls of which (like the coast of the island itself) consists of the same hexagonal basalt columns. Perhaps this is also part of the Giant's Road
Giant's Causeway photo
