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| Giant's Causeway visitors urged not to jam coins into rocks | Giant's Causeway visitors urged not to jam coins into rocks |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| Hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals visit the Giant's Causeway each year | Hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals visit the Giant's Causeway each year |
| The Giant's Causeway has faced many threats to its survival, from mythical fights between giants to coastal erosion and rising sea levels. | The Giant's Causeway has faced many threats to its survival, from mythical fights between giants to coastal erosion and rising sea levels. |
| Now there's a new problem. | Now there's a new problem. |
| At first, you don't notice them but as soon as you see one, you start to see them everywhere - hundreds of them, in every fissure and crevice. | At first, you don't notice them but as soon as you see one, you start to see them everywhere - hundreds of them, in every fissure and crevice. |
| They are coins, inserted into the tiny gaps between one of Northern Ireland's most famous and photographed natural resources, the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway. | They are coins, inserted into the tiny gaps between one of Northern Ireland's most famous and photographed natural resources, the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway. |
| The Giant's Causeway is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea | The Giant's Causeway is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea |
| Like the padlocks left on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, people often leave the coins behind for love or luck. | Like the padlocks left on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, people often leave the coins behind for love or luck. |
| But, like that tradition, the coins are causing problems, and now visitors are being asked to keep their spare change in their pockets. | But, like that tradition, the coins are causing problems, and now visitors are being asked to keep their spare change in their pockets. |
| In Paris, it has been made illegal to attach a padlock after part of the bridge collapsed in 2014. | In Paris, it has been made illegal to attach a padlock after part of the bridge collapsed in 2014. |
| At the Giant's Causeway, the practice started years ago – but the caretakers for the site, the National Trust, believe it has increased significantly in scale in the last decade or so. | At the Giant's Causeway, the practice started years ago – but the caretakers for the site, the National Trust, believe it has increased significantly in scale in the last decade or so. |
| Hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals visit each year and only a fraction leave behind this unwanted memento. | Hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals visit each year and only a fraction leave behind this unwanted memento. |
| But the coins are having a direct impact on the rocks themselves. The worst affected are the basalt columns that make up The Loom – 10 ft high leaning towers of rock. | But the coins are having a direct impact on the rocks themselves. The worst affected are the basalt columns that make up The Loom – 10 ft high leaning towers of rock. |
| The coins rust and discolour the rock | The coins rust and discolour the rock |
| They are a slightly lighter colour than the iconic hexagonal black basalt at the point of the causeway. | They are a slightly lighter colour than the iconic hexagonal black basalt at the point of the causeway. |
| It is easy to see at first glance the discolouration caused by the coins - a reddish-brown wash over the surface. | It is easy to see at first glance the discolouration caused by the coins - a reddish-brown wash over the surface. |
| Dr Cliff Henry, nature engagement officer with the National Trust, said the rocks are affected on a number of levels. | Dr Cliff Henry, nature engagement officer with the National Trust, said the rocks are affected on a number of levels. |
| "People see others put coins in, so they copycat, they take a coin out of their pocket and they might take a stone off the ground to hammer the coin in, but they might miss and chip the stone itself so that's doing damage." | "People see others put coins in, so they copycat, they take a coin out of their pocket and they might take a stone off the ground to hammer the coin in, but they might miss and chip the stone itself so that's doing damage." |
| Dr Cliff Henry said the rocks are affected on a number of levels | Dr Cliff Henry said the rocks are affected on a number of levels |
| He added: "Once the coin is in there it starts to rust and due to the atmosphere here it rusts at an accelerated level. | He added: "Once the coin is in there it starts to rust and due to the atmosphere here it rusts at an accelerated level. |
| "The coin then expands and that's putting pressure on the joint near the edge so we have seen on a number of places here that the corners have popped off. | "The coin then expands and that's putting pressure on the joint near the edge so we have seen on a number of places here that the corners have popped off. |
| "And the rusting metal in there is starting to leach. The iron and nickel and copper is leaching out over the rocks and it looks unsightly." | "And the rusting metal in there is starting to leach. The iron and nickel and copper is leaching out over the rocks and it looks unsightly." |
| He said they're appealing to people to stop inserting the coins before more damage is done to these 60-million-year-old rocks. | He said they're appealing to people to stop inserting the coins before more damage is done to these 60-million-year-old rocks. |
| "On a geological timescale, this is very rapid erosion." | "On a geological timescale, this is very rapid erosion." |
| Coins jammed in Giant's Causeway damaging rock | Coins jammed in Giant's Causeway damaging rock |
| A report from the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland shed some light on the problem. | A report from the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland shed some light on the problem. |
| Dr Kirstin Lemon said: "The advice of the Geological Survey to the National Trust is to see if we can remove as many of those coins as we can. | Dr Kirstin Lemon said: "The advice of the Geological Survey to the National Trust is to see if we can remove as many of those coins as we can. |
| "By removing them, it means we're stopping any further physical impact on the site itself. We're also stopping that chemical impact as well." | "By removing them, it means we're stopping any further physical impact on the site itself. We're also stopping that chemical impact as well." |
| She said she hoped that by removing coins, it would stop others adding more. | She said she hoped that by removing coins, it would stop others adding more. |
| A specialist stonemason has started the work and has removed about 10% of them so far. | A specialist stonemason has started the work and has removed about 10% of them so far. |
| "He's done some test sites already so we know we can take these coins out without doing damage to the stones themselves," said Dr Henry. | "He's done some test sites already so we know we can take these coins out without doing damage to the stones themselves," said Dr Henry. |
| "We want him to do it - we don't want the general public to do that, we don't want to cause any further damage." | "We want him to do it - we don't want the general public to do that, we don't want to cause any further damage." |
| Tourists use other rocks to hammer the coins in | Tourists use other rocks to hammer the coins in |
| Signs will also be put up and visitors are already warned not to insert the coins by tour guides at the Giant's Causeway, like Mark Adams. | Signs will also be put up and visitors are already warned not to insert the coins by tour guides at the Giant's Causeway, like Mark Adams. |
| "I think it's a simple thing of wanting to leave something of themselves behind," he said. | "I think it's a simple thing of wanting to leave something of themselves behind," he said. |
| "But if you want to leave something behind, take a photo, put it online, it'll be there forever." | "But if you want to leave something behind, take a photo, put it online, it'll be there forever." |
| Last year, the Giant's Causeway received about 684,000 visits. | Last year, the Giant's Causeway received about 684,000 visits. |
| The numbers are steadily climbing back to their pre-pandemic levels. There were nearly a million visits in 2019. | The numbers are steadily climbing back to their pre-pandemic levels. There were nearly a million visits in 2019. |
| The National Trust said not only is it Northern Ireland's most valuable natural phenomenon, it is important for the economy too. | The National Trust said not only is it Northern Ireland's most valuable natural phenomenon, it is important for the economy too. |
| "It's an icon for Northern Ireland - if we can't look after this, what's the hope for the rest of the country?," said Dr Henry. | "It's an icon for Northern Ireland - if we can't look after this, what's the hope for the rest of the country?," said Dr Henry. |
| "We really need to be looking after the causeway as best we can." | "We really need to be looking after the causeway as best we can." |
| The Giant's Causeway became a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1986. | |
| The World Heritage list includes 1,223 properties across the world and recognises the sites for their cultural or natural importance. |