My Favorite Place: Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

When I was asked what my favorite place was, it was not hard to choose. I instantly thought of my trip to Ireland and England when I had just graduated high school and went from there.

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland | In the Summer of 2015, I went on a trip with my mother and younger sister to see parts of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England. We stayed in Dublin, Ireland and London, England, but we made a special trip up into Northern Ireland for a day on a bright green tour bus. 

Cliffs of Moher - Paddywagon Tour 

Bus in Parking Area by Joseph Mischyshyn

I will readily admit that riding in this thing was mortifying. Nothing screams tourist louder than riding in a green bus with a leprechaun on the side. Once I collected myself, however, the trip was quite exciting. We visited four different places: Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, Giant's Causeway, the Dark Hedges, and Belfast.

While the scenery from Carrick-a-Rede Bridge was breathtaking, the perfect rows of trees at the Dark Hedges thought-provoking, and the bustling streets of Belfast energizing, it was the unique sight at the Giant's Causeway that stuck with me. This area is quite famous for its hexagonal basalt columns. They were formed from an erupted volcano, but the people of the past have a different story.

Nature Sea Stone Giant's Causeway by Franz

There once was an Irish giant named Finn McCool. In his prime, he built what is now called the Giant's Causeway which used to be a bridge that connected Scotland and Ireland. He was simply tossing rocks into the sea one day when he noticed how well they stack. From there, he kept throwing the rocks until a bridge was formed. On the other side of that bridge was his sworn enemy Benandonner who was intent on taking over Ireland and stealing Finn McCool's power. Before this bridge was formed, however, Finn McCool had never even seen Benandonner. Now that he had gone to challenge him, he realized that Benandonner was much larger than himself. He knew he could never win in a fight, so he made a plan to take down Benandonner in a way that wouldn't require him to fight him at all. 

Finn McCool returned to Ireland and waited for Benandonner to find the bridge himself and cross it. When Benandonner did go across the Giant's Causeway he saw Finn McCool's wife tending to a giant baby. In reality, this giant baby was Finn McCool dressed as a baby, but Benandonner did not know any better. He assumed that since this giant baby was so massive, his giant father must be even larger. Terrified by the thought of a giant larger than himself, Benandonner ran back across the bridge to Scotland, tearing it down as he went. This would prevent the massive giant from ever making it across to challenge Benandonner. Of course, this massive giant did not exist, and now Ireland was safe from the wrath of Benandonner. 

Giants Causeway by Amanda Slater

It is an interesting tale. Of course, it doesn't seem to be plausible, but it is quite creative. Scotland also has some remains of the bridge, or some hexagonal basalt columns, thus the story appears to have some merit. Science, however, shows that the true origins of the columns is merely volcanic activity. 

Can you see why this stuck with me? Not only was the Giant's Causeway beautiful, with strong gusts of wind and crashing waves, but it also has a famous legend. It is my favorite place for these reasons. I even brought home some seashells from the Giant's Causeway as a souvenir of my time there. If I could, I would love to go back in the future.




Legend source: Wilderness Ireland