Giant's Causeway

Description:

• A World Heritage Site, this natural rock formation is extraordinary. Sitting at the foot of steep cliffs, and stretching out into the sea, it is a natural formation of thousands of tightly packed basalt columns. The tops of the columns form flat steppingstones the size of dinner plates, but the strangest thing about them is that they are almost perfectly hexagonal. They are all about 12 inches in diameter, and some are as tall as 12m (39 ft.). Scientists believe they were formed 60 or 70 million years ago by volcanic eruptions and cooling lava. The ancients, on the other hand, believed the rock formation to be the work of giants. To reach the causeway, you walk from the parking area down a steep path for nearly 1.6km (1 mile), past amphitheaters of stone columns and formations with fanciful names like Honeycomb, Wishing Well, Giant's Granny, King and his Nobles, and Lover's Leap. If you wish, you can then climb up a wooden staircase to Benbane Head to take in the views, and then walk back along the cliff top. There is a regular shuttle service down from the helpful visitor center for those who can't face such a long hike. Note: The Causeway itself is never closed -- even after the visitor center shuts down, you can still walk down the path on your own. Also, they make a lot of money through parking in the causeway parking lot, but you can park for free on the street.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010