By superstition, visitors left thousands of pieces behind them behind. Rust threatens the integrity of the rock which formed after a lava flow 60 million years ago.
Visitors to the Chaussée des Géants, a famous natural tourist site on the North Irish coast, are asked to stop slipping coins between stones, a superstition that generates significant damage. To attract “Love or luck”tourists have stuck thousands of pieces between the rocks and in the cracks of the site for decades, explains to AFP Cliff, which watches over the site for the National Trust, the management organization of many places of the British heritage.
The Chaussée des Géants, a spectacular volcanic formation which attracts almost a million tourists each year, is made up of around 40,000 vertical columns of cooled lava, juxtaposed on the coast, which give the impression of a paved roadway plunging in the sea. According to geologists, this natural phenomenon was created by a basalt lava flow. With the passage of the waves.
“Leave no trace”
PAUL FAITH / AFP
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Legend has it that this roadway was created by Irish giant Finn McCool, and that it has magical powers. The site was listed in 1986 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the parts left by visitors rust very quickly, leaving brown traces “Disricularly”and expand until sometimes tripled in size, scalliting La Roche, underlines Cliff Henry, inspecting the columns. “There are a lot of euros and pennies, but also pieces from around the world, almost all imaginable currencies”he declares, gently removing an American penny with a key.
A report published in 2021 by the government agency British Geological Survey confirmed that these documents “Causes serious damage to the site and that we must act”underlines Cliff Henry. Panels have been installed all around the Chaussée des Géants to ask tourists to “Leave no trace” from their passage.
And tourist guides, like Joan Kennedy, now have the mission to say, but firmly, tourists to keep their parts in their wallet. “Once a visitor begins to do it, everyone else gets started”deplores the guide. Robert Lewis, a 75 -year -old American tourist, says he “Upset” by damage to the site.
35,000 euros to clean the site
The National Trust and the Organization Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust led tests to see if stone tailors could remove the parts without causing more damage, which turned out to be conclusive, reports Mr. Henry. The cost of withdrawing all the parts is estimated at 30,000 pounds (around 34,800 euros).
“If we manage to remove them all, it will improve the situation and, hope, will encourage people to leave none” On the site, underlines Cliff Henry. “We know that visitors cherish the giants, and that many have woven deep personal ties with it, so we want this natural wonder continues to exist for future generations”he concludes.
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