Latest news with #Finn McCool
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Part of Giant's Causeway cordoned off following rockfall
A rockfall has taken place at one of Northern Ireland's best known natural wonders. It happened in the Loom area at the back of the Giant's Causeway on Friday. Visitors looked on as rocks crumbled away from a section of the famous basalt columns in north Antrim. The immediate area was then cordoned off. It comes several months after the National Trust, which cares for the Giant's Causeway, urged visitors to stop leaving coins in rock cracks. Work has been under way to remove coins from countries across the world, from the UK's currency to euros and from the Far East and United States, because they can put pressure on the surrounding rock. A National Trust spokesperson said they are not linking Friday's rockfall to coins in the rock cracks. 'On Friday at around lunchtime, there was a small rockfall in the Loom area (back of the Giant's Causeway) in Port Noffer,' they said. 'As a dynamic site, rockfalls do occasionally occur at the World Heritage Site. The area in which the rockfall took place is now temporarily cordoned off. 'Although coin removal work was being carried out today, this activity and the incident are not related.' While geologists say that the causeway was created by an outpouring of Basalt lava 60 million years ago around the time the North Atlantic was opening up, there are also legends that it was formed by an Irish giant Finn McCool. The National Trust protects and cares for more than 40,000 columns at the Giant's Causeway, which is Northern Ireland's first Unesco World Heritage Site and also benefits from a number of other important designations.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Giant's Causeway: Part of iconic site cordoned off after rockfall
A rockfall has taken place at the Giant's Causeway, one of Northern Ireland's most famous sites.A part of the Loom area of the Causeway, near Bushmills, County Antrim, has been cordoned off.A spokesperson for the National Trust, which oversees the World Heritage Site, said "rockfalls do occasionally occur". They said the incident was not related to the removal of coins that have been placed in rock crevices. In May, the National Trust asked visitors to the site to stop placing coins in the crevices between the rocks because it was causing charity said: "Although coin removal work was being carried out today, this activity and the incident are not related."The Giant's Causeway became a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in was formed about 60 million years ago when volcanic eruptions created 40,000 basalt stone columns. As the ancient lava cooled, the stones formed into hexagon-shaped Irish mythology, the causeway was created by Finn McCool, an Irish giant, who wanted to prove his strength to Benandonner, a rival Scottish giant from across the year, the attraction received about 684,000 numbers are steadily climbing back to their pre-pandemic levels. There were nearly a million visits in 2019.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Part of Giant's Causeway cordoned off following rockfall
A rockfall has taken place at one of Northern Ireland's best known natural wonders. It happened in the Loom area at the back of the Giant's Causeway on Friday. Visitors looked on as rocks crumbled away from a section of the famous basalt columns in north Antrim. The immediate area was then cordoned off. It comes several months after the National Trust, which cares for the Giant's Causeway, urged visitors to stop leaving coins in rock cracks. Work has been under way to remove coins from countries across the world, from the UK's currency to euros and from the Far East and United States, because they can put pressure on the surrounding rock. A National Trust spokesperson said they are not linking Friday's rockfall to coins in the rock cracks. 'On Friday at around lunchtime, there was a small rockfall in the Loom area (back of the Giant's Causeway) in Port Noffer,' they said. 'As a dynamic site, rockfalls do occasionally occur at the World Heritage Site. The area in which the rockfall took place is now temporarily cordoned off. 'Although coin removal work was being carried out today, this activity and the incident are not related.' While geologists say that the causeway was created by an outpouring of Basalt lava 60 million years ago around the time the North Atlantic was opening up, there are also legends that it was formed by an Irish giant Finn McCool. The National Trust protects and cares for more than 40,000 columns at the Giant's Causeway, which is Northern Ireland's first Unesco World Heritage Site and also benefits from a number of other important designations.
