Pops’ Ireland Travel Guide, The Giants Causeway

Now for one of my favorite places in Ireland, The Giants Causeway.

I have been to The Giants Causeway twice now, both times making it a day trip from Dublin up north. There are a few ways to get there. One is to take a tour from Dublin by bus or train. One other way is to drive, like I do, from Dublin and make it an all-day side trip. Driving to Northern Ireland is a beautiful and fun way to go. I don’t remember seeing a sign stating that we were entering Northern Ireland. I think my first clue was when the Euro wasn’t accepted anymore and we had to switch currency. On one trip, another sign was that during the Queens Jubilee all the towns were flying flags commemorating the event. We also saw the occasional homemade sign saying “Brits go home”. If you give yourself enough time there are some great ruins to see along the way. When you get into the area close to the causeway there are other places I would also recommend like the Old Bushmills Distillery and the Antium Bridge.


A Giants Shoe

 

The Giants Causeway is on the coast of Northern Ireland with very interesting rock formations. I have a geologist friend that told me it had something to do with maybe a volcanic eruption and the salt water of the sea. The rock formations are in the form of polygonal pillars of different heights. There are thousands of them from the cliffs leading out into the sea. When you get there you pay a small charge for parking and then you can walk all along the shoreline and cliffs. You can climb the pillars and walk the beach. The trail will lead you back to the top of the cliff. The views from there are incredible.  I don’t think there are rock formations like this anywhere else in the world. There is also a legend behind this. The legend is there were two giants, one in Ireland and one in Scotland that wanted to fight each other. They built a causeway between the two countries so the two could fight. If you like hiking in a beautiful and rugged area this is the place to go. It is on a smaller scale but kind of the same experience as I had in Zhangjiajie, China. (Read that earlier post).

Another place to go while you are there is the Antium Bridge. This is a rope bridge from the coast to a small island. It’s really cool to walk the bridge but you better not be afraid of heights because it is a long way down to the sea. If you go to the causeway make time to see the bridge also.

Also, in the town of Bushmill, about a half hour from the coast is the Old Bushmills Distillery. It is worth the stop for a tour and tasting.

To see all of this and a few other stops along the way plan on a full day and it is definitely worth the time.