자이언트 코즈웨이(Giant's Causeway) 안내(1). Bushmills

자이언트 코즈웨이(Giant's Causeway) 안내(1). Bushmills.

북아일랜드(Northern Ireland)

nationaltrust.org.uk

 

Outstanding universal values

The Giant's Causeway was recognised as a World Heritage Site for two reasons : the amazing beauty of its natural landscape and because of what it shows us about Earth's ancient past.

 

"World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are loacted... What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application."

- UNESCO

 

Fifty years of car and counting

The National Trust opened the Giant's Causeway to the public in 1962 with the intention of protecting the local landscape and environment for future generations.

In 1986 we were successful in our bid to give the Giant's Causeway World Heritage Site status, the only site in Northern Ireland to have this special designation. Since then we have welcomed visitors form all over the world to Northern Ireland, encouraging them to explore more to ensure local communities benefit too.

 

In good global company

The Giant's Causeway shares its place on the World Heritage List with some other incredible, famous places. We sit alongside places like the Taj Mahal, Victoria Falls, The Pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and The Galápagos islands. The Giant's Causeway is currently Northern Ireland's only World Heritage Site.

 

A dynamic site

The World Heritage Site is an incredibly dynamic place - hundreds of rockfalls and landslips happen every year and trails can become blocked. Buying your ticket today has helped fund our Ranger team - who check the site very early every morning so visitors can be as safe as possible when exploring the Causeway. Without the work of this team (often happening unseen and outside peak times) the Causeway could become difficult to access.

 

Outstanding architecture become landscape

A huge team of people worked hard to create this gateway to the World Heritage coastline. The building almost becomes landscape itself - with its unique and beautiful basalt façade echoing the Causeway stones. The centre is hidden from the coastline, yet instantly recognisable from the landside as visitors approach. The construction of the Visitor Centre has restored the ancient irdgeline at the top of the cliff. Visitors can now walk an unbroken line from Runkerry, across the roof of teh Visitor Centre and on to Sheperd's Steps and beyond.

 

Wildlife thrives

The cost of your ticket helps The National Trust to employ conservation specialiss to carefully monitor the plants, butterflies, birds and animals on the site.

We undertake all sorts of practical conservation tasks here including scrub clearance, traditional hedgerow rejuvenation and wildflower meadow maintenance (with carefully placed sheep) to make sure all our wildlife is thriving.

As a result the Causeway landscape plays host to an amazing array of rare plants like unusual orchids and provides a home for a stunning array of birds.

 

Complex in its simplicity

The Visitor Centre has no right angles - this makes for a unique look and feel, but created some particular challenges for the builders and contractors. It is intended to look like folds in the earth, with it's materials echoing those of the surrounding landscape.

From the car park you seel basalt columns and shiny glass, from the sea only a grassy bank. The Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre is a braveattempt to balance the building with the landscape.

 

Local living

We invest in a range of initiatives with the local community around the Causeway, in nearby Bushmills and across the North Antrim Coast and Glens. We have worked to bring local children to the Causeway, many of them for the first time.

Your ticket has also helped us to employ a large team of friendly local people so we can give our visitors the welcome they deserve, and showcase the best Northern Ireland has to offer.

Our team also includes vulunteers who give an incredible amount of time and energy because of their love of the Causeway and pride in local heritage.

 

Rising out of the land

As far as we know, basalt has not been used to build this way before. The basalt comes from a quarry at nearby Kilrea only 20 miles away. The rock was made during the same sequence of eruptions which formed the basalts of Antrim - including the Causeway columns themselves. Our grass roof was 'grown' in a field on Runkerry Headland, just next to the Visitor Centre. The grass is a mixture of carefully gathered local seeds and amenity grasses (of the kind used on sports pitches) which help it stand upu to thousands of feet each year.

 

From the land to the sea

The National Trust cares for, and provides access to, several of the North Coast's most beautiful beaches. There's no public right for people to access the coast or countryside in Northern Ireland - so the Trust has a special role in helping share these precious resources with everyone.

 

Not just hot air

Nearly five kilometres of pipe runs buried in the ground underneath the car park providing ground source heat for the Visitor Centre. The building has no boilers or air conditioning - it was designed to be as sustainable as possible. Ground coupled cooling draws air through underground pipe 4.2 kilometres long, dug into the area between the Visitor Centre and the Causeway Hotel.

 

---