A Special Time

Giant’s Causeway is located in County Antrim and is seen as the biggest natural wonder in Northern Ireland. Hence, it is no wonder that it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The sight is a path like array of over 40,000 pentagonal and hexagonal stone bricks that seem to lead like a path into the sea. The colour of the bricks is a greyish ombré look from a darker grey at the bottom to a lighter grey at the top.

It is not completely sure or proved how the strange shape of the bricks was formed. Some of the latest theories state that the stones originated from volcanic eruptions around 60 million years ago. Liquid lava broke through the earth crust and rose upwards, getting those incredible pillar-like strange shapes. With the time they cooled down and crystallised, keeping this shape. The formation of the stones nearly seems magical or surreal, as they look perfectly shaped and fit to each other just like a puzzle.

Another theory of how the stones came into existence is a little bit more surreal but it also explains how the sight got its name. There was a fight between two giants named Fionn (Fionn mac Cumhaill) at the Northern Irish coast and Benandonner at the Scottish coast who both didn’t get along very well as Benandonner threatened the Northern Irish. In order to teach Benandonner a lesson, Fionn pulled pieces off Antrim’s coast building a bridge to the Scottish side. However, as Brenandonner was a very gigantic and frightening giant, that was a really bad idea. To keep Fionn save, his wife had the great idea of masquerading him as a little baby. When the Scottish giant reached the Northern Irish coast and saw the huge baby he wondered how big the father must be and turned around being scared and impressed.

No matter which of the stories you believe in, Giant’s Causeway is definitely an amazing and very beautiful place. It really felt magical being at such a resilient and historical place and it was definitely a special time.