Tourist coins pose giant problem at N. Ireland's famous causeway site
Now authorities are urging tourists to keep their coins in their pockets to preserve the spectacular landscape.
Some 40,000 columns mark the causeway, Northern Ireland's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Geologists say the natural phenomenon was created by an outpouring of basalt lava 60 million years ago.
Legend has it that the causeway was formed by Irish giant Finn McCool.
In recent decades, visitors have pushed thousands of coins into fissures in the rocks.
The gesture is "a token of love or luck", according to Cliff Henry, the causeway's nature engagement officer.
But the coins rapidly corrode and expand, causing the basalt to flake and leaving "unsightly" rust-coloured streaks, Henry told AFP.
He pointed to streaks on a rock and gingerly prised out a US cent with a set of keys.
"We get a lot of euros and dollar cents. But coins from literally all over the world -- any currency you can think of, pretty much -- we have had it here," he said.
A report by the British Geological Survey in 2021 revealed that the coins were "doing some serious damage" and something had to be done about it, he noted.
Signs are now in place around the site appealing to tourists to "leave no trace".
'DISTRESSED'
"Once some visitors see other people have done it, they feel that they need to add to it," causeway tour guide Joan Kennedy told AFP.
She and her colleagues now gently but firmly tell tourists to desist.
At the exit from the causeway, a US couple said they were "distressed" to hear of the damage the metal caused.
"Our guide mentioned as we came up that people had been putting coins into the stones. It's really terrible to hear that," said Robert Lewis, a 75-year-old from Florida.
"It's kind of like damaging any kind of nature when you are doing something like that, putting something foreign into nature. It's not good," said his wife, Geri, 70.
As part of a £30,000 ($40,000) conservation project, stone masons recently removed as many coins as they could -- without causing further damage -- from 10 test sites around the causeway.
Henry said the trial was successful and is to be expanded across the causeway.
"If we can get all those coins removed to start with that will help the situation and hopefully no more coins will be put in," he said.
"If visitors see fewer coins in the stones and hear appeals to stop the damaging practice, the problem can maybe be solved.
"We know that visitors love and cherish the Giant's Causeway,and many form deep personal connections to it, so we want this natural wonder to remain special for future generations."
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Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Tourist coins pose giant problem at N. Ireland's famous causeway site
BUSHMILLS, UNITED KINGDOM - Northern Ireland's Giant Causeway draws close to one million visitors a year but their habit of wedging tiny coins in cracks between the rocks -- to bring love or luck -- is damaging the world-famous wonder. Now authorities are urging tourists to keep their coins in their pockets to preserve the spectacular landscape. Some 40,000 columns mark the causeway, Northern Ireland's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Geologists say the natural phenomenon was created by an outpouring of basalt lava 60 million years ago. Legend has it that the causeway was formed by Irish giant Finn McCool. In recent decades, visitors have pushed thousands of coins into fissures in the rocks. The gesture is "a token of love or luck", according to Cliff Henry, the causeway's nature engagement officer. But the coins rapidly corrode and expand, causing the basalt to flake and leaving "unsightly" rust-coloured streaks, Henry told AFP. He pointed to streaks on a rock and gingerly prised out a US cent with a set of keys. "We get a lot of euros and dollar cents. But coins from literally all over the world -- any currency you can think of, pretty much -- we have had it here," he said. A report by the British Geological Survey in 2021 revealed that the coins were "doing some serious damage" and something had to be done about it, he noted. Signs are now in place around the site appealing to tourists to "leave no trace". 'DISTRESSED' "Once some visitors see other people have done it, they feel that they need to add to it," causeway tour guide Joan Kennedy told AFP. She and her colleagues now gently but firmly tell tourists to desist. At the exit from the causeway, a US couple said they were "distressed" to hear of the damage the metal caused. "Our guide mentioned as we came up that people had been putting coins into the stones. It's really terrible to hear that," said Robert Lewis, a 75-year-old from Florida. "It's kind of like damaging any kind of nature when you are doing something like that, putting something foreign into nature. It's not good," said his wife, Geri, 70. As part of a £30,000 ($40,000) conservation project, stone masons recently removed as many coins as they could -- without causing further damage -- from 10 test sites around the causeway. Henry said the trial was successful and is to be expanded across the causeway. "If we can get all those coins removed to start with that will help the situation and hopefully no more coins will be put in," he said. "If visitors see fewer coins in the stones and hear appeals to stop the damaging practice, the problem can maybe be solved. "We know that visitors love and cherish the Giant's Causeway,and many form deep personal connections to it, so we want this natural wonder to remain special for future generations."
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Finns flock to play with sheep and connect with nature to disconnect from busy lives
Petri Stenberg feeds the sheep herd on June 17, 2025 in Isojarvi National Park, Langelmaki, Finland. Metsahallitus, a state owned enterprise in charge of most of protected areas and forestry, has started renting farm cabins where the guests have the chance to take care of a small herd of sheep during their staying. Image: Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives. Petri Stenberg is enjoying a "shepherd week" together with his wife Oona and their two children Fia, age 2, and Hugo, 4, on an old farm on an island in the Isojarvi national park in central Finland. The popular holiday scheme, organised by the Metsahallitus company that manages and protects state-owned land and water areas, allows the family to combine recreation and nature conservation. "We are living very close to nature here. We feed the sheep a couple of times a day, we have been to the sauna, swam and gone fishing," Oona Stenberg, who works as a physiotherapist, told AFP. "Not once have I seen any news here. There's no TV here, we haven't browsed our phones. So in a way, my mind has somehow calmed down and I'm just concentrating on being here," she added. The popular holiday scheme, organised by the Metsahallitus company that manages and protects state-owned land and water areas, allows the family to combine recreation and nature conservation. Image: Alexas_Fotos, Pixabay Accessible only by rowboat or on foot through the forest and across a bridge, the old farm is one of around a dozen remote sites across Finland to which Finns can apply for a week-long holiday taking care of sheep. Historically, grazing sheep and other animals have played a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and habitats for flora and fauna at the various locations. But changed forestry and agricultural practices, including a "dramatic" decline in the number of small farms in Finland, have seen these traditional biotopes of so-called semi-natural grasslands and wooded pastures become an endangered part of Finland's nature, explained Metsahallitus expert Leena Hiltunen. "The main purpose of the shepherd weeks is to increase people's knowledge about these traditional biotopes," Hiltunen said. The vegetation on the Isojarvi island was traditionally kept light and lush as grazing sheep prevented overgrowth, providing the necessary ecosystem for now-endangered plant and insect species. Compared to the 1950s, less than one percent of Finland's traditional biotopes and landscapes remain, according to Metsahallitus, with most of them now located in protected areas. "Appreciation and protection of nature is so important... So it is really important for all of us to learn about it and for children to learn to appreciate it," said Oona Stenberg. Popular holiday Metsahallitus received 12,764 applications from 2,236 applicants -- many applying for more than one site -- for this year's summer season. A total of 158 shepherd weeks are selected through a lottery. "There has been a great deal of interest," Hiltunen said. The Stenberg family, who lives in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki, applied a few times until they finally got lucky this year. A week typically costs between 400 and 670 euros ($470-$780) at most locations. The housing is spartan and simple, in huts or cottages often lacking running water and sometimes even electricity. "Some people have asked us why we wanted to pay to herd sheep and do some yard work," laughed Oona Stenberg. "But it is really an experience for us, and the kids are loving it," she added, sipping from her coffee cup outside the family's yellow cottage, surrounded by old wooden outhouses and a sauna overlooking the lake. In Finland, many people spend their summers in rustic countryside cottages. Hiltunen said only Finns could apply for the shepherd weeks because it was crucial to know "how to manage the modest lifestyle" in nature on one's own. "We don't have enough resources to advertise it internationally, or have someone there nearby advising how things work," she said.
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Angola opens up to tourists in a pivot from oil
AFP | Published 4 hours ago When Feliesiano Muteca started surfing a decade ago, he had the waves at Cabo Ledo on Angola's long Atlantic coastline pretty much to himself. Now, the unspoilt and sandy beach about 125 kilometres south of the capital Luanda has become a prized destination for international surfers, with a reputation as a hidden gem. The Portuguese-speaking southern African nation is still scarred by a long post-independence civil war that stalled its development, although parts of Luanda flash with oil money. Wary of its dependence on oil and already burned by the market's volatility, Angola is embarking on a drive to lure back foreign tourists by easing access for travellers and boosting its attractions. These include Cabo Ledo, where Muteca is a qualified surfing instructor with the sport's accredited body. "There are two of us, and we give surf lessons," said Muteca, who started out when he was about 10 years old by borrowing boards from other surfers. "Otherwise, we're there to help out on the beach," he said, pointing to thatched cabanas being assembled on the sand. Further along, a small lodge has set up a beachside bar and cafe, with cabins on the hillside overlooking the Atlantic. It is filled with a group of Germans enjoying the shade between waves. The same company, Carpe Diem, has a larger resort just up the coast. Nearby tourist sites like the dramatic seaside Miradouro da Lua cliffs once had little more than a dusty road to a lookout point. Now there's a smoothie hut and a cocktail bar, with a branded wooden frame showing the best angles for photos and selfies. After five decades of war that ended in 2002, the vast country had a Stalinist government suspicious of the outside world. Oil fuelled a post-war boom but an oil crash sent the kwanza currency tumbling. In 2014, it traded at around 100 to the US dollar. It is now trading around 900 to one dollar. The oil boom days sent tourism to a high of nearly $1.6 billion in 2014, with the yacht crowd filling Luanda Bay and splashing huge sums on lavish beach parties. That plunged to just $14.8 million last year, according to the National Bank. It led the government to adopt a new tourism strategy. Since last year, dozens of countries have visa-free entry. An airport where soldiers once patrolled with AK-47s is now staffed with smiling young travel ambassadors wearing denim overalls with bibs that read: "Can I help you?". The yacht club remains busy but Luanda has also become a stop for cruise liners. Local tour companies are opening to guide visitors through the less developed interior. And high-end international companies are adding Angola to their itineraries. Luanda-born writer Claudio Silva in June co-hosted a week-long journey for foodies, travelling with a top Angolan chef to visit new wineries and explore pre-colonial cuisine and heritage farming. "Deep-dive gastronomic tours like the one we're doing with Roads and Kingdoms are an opportunity for us to tell our own stories, through food and culture, in urban and rural settings, where our journey is guided by the experiences of the people who live here," he said. South African luxury train operator Rovos Rail has also added the Angolan port city of Lobito to its routes, creating overland treks that can run across the continent from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. Those journeys pass through inland areas largely unseen by outsiders for decades. That means accommodation can be basic or require camping. The once-rich wildlife population was decimated by the years of war but government-sponsored repopulation efforts are under way, said Pedro Monterroso of African Parks, a non-profit conservation group. Local rangers and communities are also being trained to become involved in the safari sector, said Monterroso, whose organisation has been hired by Angola to run Iona National Park along the Namibian border in the ancient Namib desert. "The vision is they want to be Namibia or Botswana in 10 or 15 years," Monterroso said, referring to Angola's neighbours that draw tens of thousands of foreign tourists every year to their unspoiled natural riches. | AFP
