Giant’s Causeway – A day trip from Belfast

The Giant’s Causeway has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. So when I finally managed to visit at the beginning of July I couldn’t help but take loads of snaps. I can’t really describe in words how it felt to finally be there, standing on this natural beauty, watching the waves lap over the stones. If you’ve been then you’ll understand what I mean, it just feels so peaceful there.

The trail we decided to take down to the seafront was the “blue trail”, a 25 minute (0.8 mile downhill walk). The walk was pleasant despite the slight rainfall (as expected in Northern Ireland) and the views are phenomenal throughout.

I’d seen loads of photos online of the Causeway but nothing quite prepared me for the size (especially the height of it). I felt like an adventurous child climbing the rocks to get to the top of it, where the views were breath-taking. Many people were venturing out onto the wet black rocks but were soon whistled at by the many National Trust Employees keeping guard. After all, no one wants to be soaked by a random wave, which I was told is a frequent occurrence.

The National Trust charges £9 to visit the Giant’s Causeway but if you’re a member you can visit for free!

The legend behind Giant’s Causeway is about a Giant called Finn. Finn was an Irish Giant who got into an alteration with the Scottish Giant Benandonner. Finn was told he was a weak giant by Benandonner and this made him angry. So angry in fact that he starting tearing chunks off of the nearby cliffs. He worked day and night to create a pathway over to Scotland so he could address Benandonner in person. Once the pathway was complete Finn marched over to Scotland, only to quickly realise that he was the smaller, weaker giant and he quickly retreated to Northern Ireland.

However, Benandonner wasn’t ready to leave things be and he followed Finn home. Finn returned to his wife Oonagh and begged her to help him avoid any physical alteration with Benandonner and she came up with an idea. She dressed Finn up as a baby and introduced Benandonner to him as her son. Benandonner saw the size of the “baby” and became terrified at the potential size of his father so he ran all the way back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway as he went to prevent Finn from returning.

Of course this is just the myth that is told about Giant’s Causeway, in reality this natural phenomenon was caused by a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago. However, the scientific version is nowhere near as entertaining as the myth, so let’s just stick with the story about Finn for now …

If you want to visit Giant’s Causeway I’d happily recommend Ulster Tours to everyone. We had the most amazing tour guide Ian who took us on a day trip to Giant’s Causeway and  Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (another must do if you’re in Northern Ireland!) for a more than reasonable £12.50! (Thank you Groupon!!)

This was one of the best day trips I’ve ever done. Ian was knowledgeable, friendly and full of stories to share with us along the way. Although there was a slight drizzle when we were at Giant’s Causeway, the weather was otherwise sunny and the skies were clear – I don’t think we could have lucked out any more than we did!

The Tour also included a stop at Bushmills Distillery where we tried the local whiskey (not for the faint hearted, my throat burnt for hours afterwards…) and CarrickFergus Castle, which was a nice picturesque spot. It was a full day trip (9.30am – 6pm) and I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed myself.