So today is St. Patrick's Day and immediately I knew I wanted to write about the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. I visited this site long before digital cameras were available, so these are scanned photos of my trip.
Legend states that a giant in Northern Ireland was building this "bridge" to fight with the giant in Scotland. Another story (which I can't seem to find confirmed anywhere) is that the giant was building this bridge to meet his love on the other side. And heck, I'm a romantic at heart so I prefer the second story. The reasons for the incomplete bridge generally includes falling asleep for some reason.
In actuality, this was lava rock that quickly cooled and shattered once the hot lava reached to cool salt water. This explains the similar rock formations on the Scotland side as well. What is unusual is the rock columns are generally broken into perfect hexagons; although there are some columns with 5, 7 and even 8 sides visible.
Another reason to visit? This site is just a few miles away from Bushmills where you can go on a tour of the Bushmills Whiskey factory and even have a little tasting at the end.
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