More tales of Norn Iron

Hello there!

Hmm.  I've been looking through the Giants Causeway photographs to share with you - but having looked at them again, I'm not very happy with them really.  I dunno - I had some kind of romantic vision that the place would be as uninhabited,wild and untamed and as mystical and moody as the promotional photographs lead you to believe.  Of course, if you time your trip to be there at around 5am in the morning when there are NO BLOODY TOURISTS there, then this is exactly what you will see.

If you go in the middle of the day - then you can expect this instead:- lots of people throwing shapes on some rocks!  That bloke in the middle with his arms outstretched?  Every time he climbed another rock he repeated the exercise and his missus giggled and took another picture!  Bless.  Cough.

Anyway........ human sheep aside (and yes,  I have to include ourselves in that description!), it really is a very beautiful place.  It was great to clamber over the stones, feeling rather like a child crossing stepping stones, choosing exactly the best one to put your foot onto next.  The photo above shows 'the wishing chair' and we sat right on top of it (me rather precariously and hoping that my arthritic back and knees wouldn't snatch and give way on the way down!).

The following pics have been cropped to death to try to exclude annoying folk from them.  I'm such a grumpy bint! hahaha. 

The man was laughing at me whilst I was taking this as it took ages before people
stopped coming through!  It became a personal challenge to get a body-free shot!!
Yay!

I've borrowed the following description of the Causeway from http://www.causewaycoastandglens.com/ who describe this magical place far more eloquently than I ever could.

"Situated on the North coast of Ireland in  Country Antrim (about two miles north of Bushmills, 11 miles from Coleraine and 13 miles from Ballycastle), the Giant's Causeway is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption; however the legend is more convincing for those who prefer a more colourful story (See HERE to read about the legend of Finn MacCool - far more exciting than the geological explanation!).

The Giant's Causeway plays a major part of Ireland's heritage, attracting visitors from around the world each year since it was first documented in 1603 and realistic sketches were published in 1740.  The Giant's Causeway has often been described as the Eighth Wonder of the World and was declared as Ireland's first World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1986.  Once you have visited you will quickly see why it has become Ireland's top tourist attraction".