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194
TRAVELLER
WILLIAM THACKERAY
The
Vanity Fair
novelist made a trip in
the 19th century, later writing: “When
the world was fashioned out of
formless chaos, this must have been
the bit over – a remnant of chaos.”
ICONS
TheGiant’s Causeway
ANATOMYOF AN ICON
We walk you throughNorthern Ireland’smost famous landmark
STAR COLUMNISTS
THE FACTS
FIONN MAC CUMHAILL
It is said that this Irish giant
made the causeway to travel
to Scotland and fight his rival
Benandonner – but came running
back when he saw how big he was.
MICHELLE DOCKERY
Downton Abbey
’s Lady Mary
fell in love with the place
while starring in
Pygmalion
in
Belfast. She was pictured here in
an advert for Visit Britain.
Frommyth to modernity, three famous fans of the rocky outcrop
WORDS JAMES BARTLETT. PHOTOS ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES, REX FEATURES
50-60 million
Number of years ago that
volcanic activity created
these step-like hexagonal
columns on Antrim coast
40,000
Number of interlocking
basalt columns
1
Ranks as most popular
tourist attraction in
Northern Ireland
1986
Year it was declared
a UNESCOWorld
Heritage Site
£18.5m
Cost of the new
eco-friendly, grass-roofed
Visitor Centre
8
Often called the
Eighth Wonder
of the World
12m
Height of the
tallest columns
The causeway's
eye-catching appearance
was exploited on the
cover of
Houses of the
Holy
, a 1973 album by
Led Zeppelin. The sleeve
design also featured a
number of strange,
alien-like children.
MUSICAL
MUSE