Chaos in Ireland as tourists spark massive row over common issue at Giant's Causeway

A popular tourist ritual at Giant’s Causeway is causing huge damage to the World Heritage Site. Coins wedged into the cracks of the basalt rock columns by tourists will cost the National Trust more than £30,000 to remove.

This has led to the charity appealing for people to stop the practice to protect the famous Northern Ireland landmark and to follow advice to “leave no trace” during a visit. Dr Cliff Henry, National Trust Nature Engagement Officer at the Giant’s Causeway, said: “We know that visitors really love and cherish the Giant's Causeway, and many form deep personal connections to this special landscape. 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 has concluded that the coins wedged into the joints and cracks in the rock are detrimental to the basalt rock of the Giant’s Causeway, both aesthetically and physically.

Dr Henry explained: “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.”

Specialists in stone conservation were hired to remove as many of the coins as they could without causing further damage on ten test locations. The trial was successful, so it is hoped that all the remaining coins will also soon be removed.

While geologists will 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.

In one, he created a causeway to get across the Irish Sea to face his rival, the Scottish giant Benandonner, who tore up most of the causeway to prevent Finn from getting back to Scotland. Another legend has it that the causeway was built so Finn could meet a Scottish maid he was enamoured with.

The more than 40,000 columns at the Giant’s Causeway are not only Northern Ireland’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site but also an Area of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation, a Natural Nature Reserve and part of the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.