Latest news with #CliffHenry
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Urgent warning to tourists at UK beauty spot over common ritual
The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland has been damaged by tourists in recent years, with the National Trust now urging visitors not to take part in a common activity The National Trust has issued a fresh plea to visitors of Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway, urging them to stop pushing coins into the cracks of the site's iconic basalt columns. What may seem like a harmless or symbolic gesture is actually contributing to the gradual deterioration of one of the UK's most treasured natural landmarks. The Giant's Causeway, located in County Antrim, attracts over half a million visitors each year and is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique geological formations and rich cultural history. The site is made up of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, formed around 60 million years ago during intense volcanic activity. As the lava cooled rapidly, it contracted and cracked into the remarkable hexagonal shapes that visitors marvel at today. But in recent years, a growing number of tourists have been wedging coins into the joints between the columns - sometimes for luck, sometimes to mark a visit, and sometimes simply copying what they've seen others do. The practice, which has reportedly increased in the past decade, is now causing noticeable and costly damage. 'The coins quickly rust and expand,' explained Dr. Cliff Henry, who works for the National Trust at the site. 'This leads to flaking of the rock and leaves behind unsightly reddish-brown streaks. Worse still, people often pick up nearby stones to hammer coins into place. When they miss, they chip or break the basalt columns.' The damage is not merely cosmetic. These coins, some of which are pushed deep into the stone, compromise the integrity of the columns themselves. While basalt is a durable volcanic rock, it's not immune to persistent mechanical stress or chemical reactions caused by oxidising metals. Recognising the seriousness of the issue, the National Trust recently trialled a coin removal project. The results were positive, and they now plan to expand the clean-up operation across the site. However, the full cost of safely extracting the coins is estimated to exceed £30,000, a significant sum that highlights how seemingly minor acts by individual visitors can lead to large-scale consequences over time. To combat the trend, new signs will be installed throughout the site warning visitors against the practice. Tour guides will also be briefed to include the message in their presentations. The Trust is hoping education and awareness will help reverse the damage and preserve the Giant's Causeway for future generations. The natural wonder is not only a geological marvel but also steeped in folklore. According to legend, the Giant's Causeway was built by the Irish giant Finn McCool as a path across the sea to challenge a rival Scottish giant, Benandonner. The myth adds an enchanting layer to the site's already powerful appeal—but the National Trust is reminding visitors that respecting the site's natural beauty is more important than leaving a personal mark. 'Our job is to protect this place not just for today, but for decades and centuries to come,' said Dr. Henry. 'We know most people don't intend to do harm, but even small actions - like pushing in a coin - can have a lasting negative impact.' The Giant's Causeway has stood for millions of years, shaped by the forces of nature. Now, it faces a different kind of erosion - from well-meaning but damaging human interaction. As the National Trust continues its efforts to safeguard the site, it asks visitors to admire the stones, learn their history, and take only photographs - leaving the columns as untouched as they have stood for millennia.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pocket Change Is Causing Destruction at Iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site
Northern Ireland's legendary Giant's Causeway has survived a lot over 60 million years including volcanic eruptions, crashing waves, and even myths of battling giants. However, pocket change is becoming its latest threat, and authorities are now asking visitors to stop jamming coins into the iconic rocks. If you've ever visited the Causeway, you know the awe that hits as you step onto its iconic basalt columns, rising like nature's staircase into the sea. But look a little closer, and you'll start to notice tiny metallic intrusions shoved into cracks and crevices. Dozens, hundreds, and thousands of coins, that seem to multiply everywhere you look. What began as a superstitious gesture—coins left behind for luck or love—has turned into a headache for conservationists. And now, the National Trust is asking visitors to knock it off. "People see others put coins in, so they copycat, they take a coin out of their pocket and they might take a stone off the ground to hammer the coin in, but they might miss and chip the stone itself so that's doing damage," says Dr. Cliff Henry, nature engagement officer with the Trust. This tourist behavior results in rust stains, chipped stone, and structural damage to some of the site's most fragile formations, especially an area known as The Loom, which is a cluster of 10-foot-tall leaning columns that are already feeling the wear. Once the coins are in, they don't just sit there. The salty sea air accelerates corrosion, and expanding metal puts pressure on the basalt. In some cases, pieces have already broken off. Then there's the rust. A reddish-brown wash now stains the lighter-colored rocks, thanks to metals like copper, iron, and nickel leaching out and streaking the stone. 'This is rapid erosion on a geological scale,' says Henry. 'And we're talking about a World Heritage site here.' The Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. 684,000 visitors came last year alone, as attendance steadily climbs back toward the pre-pandemic peak of nearly one million. In response to concerns over damage caused by visitors wedging coins into the rock formations, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland is supporting a cleanup effort. According to Dr. Kirstin Lemon, the first step is the safe removal of the coins, a task already underway with the help of a professional stonemason who has extracted about 10% so far. The hope is that once the coins are gone, the damaging habit will disappear as well. 'We don't want visitors trying to pry them out themselves,' warns Henry, emphasizing the risk of causing further damage. Speaking to the BBC, he added, 'It's Northern Ireland's most iconic natural wonder. If we can't protect this, what does that say about how we care for the rest of our landscape?' For now, new signs and stronger messaging are on the way, but ultimately, the Causeway's future depends on people respecting what's already there. Pocket Change Is Causing Destruction at Iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site first appeared on Men's Journal on May 29, 2025
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- General
- Gizmodo
Stop Shoving Coins Into the Giant's Causeway
From Parisian bridges to Rome's Trevi Fountain, tourists love leaving behind mementos—but in Northern Ireland, they're eroding a 60-million-year-old landmark. Almost 60 million years ago, a series of natural events—including volcanic eruptions, erosion, glacial movement, and sea level rise—created Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway: a coastal area made of over 40,000 hexagonal basalt stone pillars. Today it is a world-renowned tourist destination, and the hundreds of thousands of yearly visitors are leaving their mark—but not in a good way. In a recent statement, the conservation charity National Trust is appealing to visitors to stop wedging coins between the Giant's Causeway's basalt rock columns. The coins are corroding and physically damaging the World Heritage Site, and as such, accelerating natural erosion processes, according to a report by the British Geological Survey. From countless padlocks on Parisian bridges to coins tossed into Rome's Trevi Fountain each year, tourists seem obsessed with the idea of leaving something behind at iconic landmarks. But while the Catholic charity Caritas collected $1.52 million in 2022 from the Trevi fountain, the National Trust and its partners will have to spend over $40,000 to remove coins from the Giant's Causeway. 'We know some may want to leave a token of their visit, but the coins are causing damage and we are urging people to stop the practice and to leave no trace so this natural wonder remains special for future generations,' Cliff Henry, National Trust Nature Engagement Officer at the Giant's Causeway, said in the statement. 'The coins are rusting, and expanding to three times their original thickness, which puts huge pressure on the surrounding rock causing it to crumble. Unsightly streaks of copper, nickel and iron oxides are also staining the stones where the coins are corroding.' The report found coins from around the world lodged in difficult-to-reach places, suggesting visitors put themselves at risk in the process. It also highlights, however, that people don't seem to be aware that their actions are damaging to the site. 'There is demonstrable evidence that the practice of inserting coins into the joints and other fractures of the Giant's Causeway is having a detrimental impact on the constituent basalt rock, both physically and aesthetically,' reads the British Geological Survey report. 'The processes associated with the degradation of the coins are seemingly accelerating the break-up of the Causeway rock mass that occurs naturally through physical and chemical weathering.' According to legend, an Irish giant named Finn McCool (yes, that was his last name) built a causeway across the Irish Sea in order to fight with a Scottish giant, who subsequently destroyed it as he fled back to his homeland. Another myth, however, has it that the Irish giant actually built the causeway to reach a woman he'd fallen in love with. Either way, I doubt McCool would have appreciated his masterpiece falling to ruins in the hands of tourists.
Irish Post
4 days ago
- Irish Post
Coins left by tourists causing significant damage to Giant's Causeway
COINS left by tourists at one of Northern Ireland's most popular beauty spots are causing significant damage to the site. Made up of more than 40,000 basalt columns, the Giant's Causeway was designated Northern Ireland's first Unesco World Heritage Site in 1986. Visitors have been lodging coins into the basalt formations at the Giant's Causeway in Co. Antrim for over 40 years. Some of the coins left behind at the Giant's Causeway The practice has become significantly more widespread in the past decade, a spokesperson for the attraction has confirmed, with tourists, inspired by the sight of existing coins, inserting their own into the natural joints and fractures of the stones. 'As these coins corrode, they expand, leading to damage and staining of the rock surface,' they explained. The National Trust, which manages the site, said the cost of removing the coins could be as much as £30k and has urged visitors to stop the practice in order to protect the famous landmark. 'We know that visitors really love and cherish the Giant's Causeway, and many form deep personal connections to this special landscape," Dr Cliff Henry, National Trust Nature Engagement Officer at the Giant's Causeway, said. The Giant's Causeway in Co. Antrim was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 "We know some may want to leave a token of their visit, but the coins are causing damage and we are urging people to stop the practice and to leave no trace so this natural wonder remains special for future generations.' A report by the British Geological Survey in 2023 concluded that the coins wedged into the joints and cracks in the rock is having a detrimental impact on the basalt rock of the Giant's Causeway, both aesthetically and physically. 'The report has found that fracturing and disintegration of the basalt rock adjacent to joints and cracks into which coins have been inserted is the result of the 'expansive delamination of the coins upon oxidation'," Dr Henry, explained. 'In other words, the coins are rusting, and expanding to three times their original thickness, which puts huge pressure on the surrounding rock causing it to crumble. "Unsightly streaks of copper, nickel and iron oxides are also staining the stones where the coins are corroding.' In response to the survey a trial coin removal was conducted by Cliveden Conservation in February 2024. Building on the success of this trial, and with funding from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), a pilot conservation project was further commissioned in the summer of 2024 by the National Trust and the Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, on behalf of the WHS Steering Group. Between January and March 2025 stone conservation specialists CONSARC and The Rock Stone Masonry carried out detailed mapping and surveying of the site and carefully removed coins from test areas. In total nine kilograms of coins were removed from the stones and a second phase of coin removal is due to take place this autumn. The National Trust is now appealing to visitors to help these efforts by not adding any more coins at the site. 'It is hoped that if visitors see fewer coins in the stones and hear appeals to stop the damaging practice the problem can be solved," Dr Henry said. 'We protect and care for places so people and nature can thrive," he added. "We are appealing to visitors to help us protect the World Heritage Site by stopping the practice of inserting coins into the Causeway stones.' See More: Antrim, Coins, Damage, Giant's Causeway, National Trust
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
‘We're urging people to stop' – Tourists ‘damaging' popular Irish beauty spot warned over €35k bill from coins in cracks
THE National Trust in Co Antrim is urging for tourists to stop destroying a popular beauty spot by jamming coins into the cracks. The Giant's Causeway is being damaged by 3 Visitors are sticking coins into the cracks in the rocks at the Giants Causeway Credit: Getty Images - Getty 3 It will cost more than €35,748 to remove all the coins Credit: RTE They have been wedged into the cracks of the basalt rock columns at the World Heritage Site. The When the coins rust, they expand - therefore putting pressure on the surrounding rock. This causes it to strain and eventually crumble. READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS According to the Tourists are being urged to stop leaving coins at the site to stop the destruction of the rocks. Dr Cliff Henry, National Trust nature engagement officer at the He said: "We know that visitors really love and cherish the Giant's Causeway, and many form deep personal connections to this special landscape. MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN "We know some may want to leave a token of their Jetski Romeo breaks finger after being flattened by monster wave while taking selfie at Giant's Causeway in Belfast The British Geological Survey released a report that concluded that the coins put into the joints and cracks in the rock have a detrimental impact. The impact on the basalt rock is both aesthetic and physical. Dr Henry continued: "The report has found that fracturing and disintegration of the basalt rock adjacent to joints and cracks into which coins have been inserted is the result of the 'expansive delamination of the coins upon oxidation'. "In other words, the coins are rusting, and expanding to three times their original thickness, which puts huge pressure on the surrounding rock causing it to crumble. "Unsightly streaks of copper, nickel and iron oxides are also staining the stones where the coins are corroding." 'STOP THE DAMAGING PRACTICE' The National Trust, partnered with Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust have hired specialists in stone conservation to remove as many of the coins as possible without causing further damage at ten test locations. Dr Henry explained: "It is hoped that if visitors see fewer coins in the stones and hear appeals to stop the damaging practice the problem can be solved. "Many coins have a centre of one metal, with a thin coating of another. UK 'copper' coins, since 1992, have a steel core with only a thin layer of copper on the outside, while five, 10 and 20 pence pieces are nickel-plated steel. "When coins start to corrode, the steel often corrodes faster and separates from the different metal of the outer layer. This delamination causes the basalt to flake. "The coins here also have accelerated corrosion because they are often soaked in saltwater spray and the mixture of metals means they break down faster. "We protect and care for places so people and nature can thrive. "We are appealing to visitors to help us protect the World Heritage Site by stopping the practice of inserting coins into the Causeway stones." 3 The coins rust and then expand, damaging the rocks Credit: Getty Images - Getty
