A Hitchhiker's Guide to Northern Ireland

Location:
Ireland

Giant's Causeway, walking tour, hitchhiking

By Lauren Yero

Hitchhiking isn’t a good idea. Cheap horror flicks, urban legends and worried fathers have all told us this. Still, there is a strange allure to putting on our best walking shoes and placing our fate at the mercy of an endless strip of pavement.

We decided to hitch a ride early one Northern Irish morning, looking out onto a landscape of impossibly green hills. We were determined to get to our destination—a geological wonder on the northernmost coast of the country—before the fog had the chance to lift and the tourists had the chance to arrive, while we could still imagine ourselves in the midst of the place’s mythology. The manager of our hostel had informed us that hitching a ride was the only way to beat the busload of morning visitors. We polished our thumbs, strapped on our packs, and set out in the half-light of early morning.

Our roadside walk was meditative. After a whirlwind tour from Dublin to Glasgow to Belfast, this walk situated us in the pace and quality of the lives of its inhabitants. We walked past stone ruins and sheep —as common as birds— and local commuters passed by with apologetic gestures; the car’s full of children, of groceries, of dining room furniture…but how we’d love to help you, kids!

After several miles of highway, a man in his seventies (playing rap music at a comically low volume on his car stereo) opened his doors to us.

“Going to the Causeway?”

Yes, our destination was none other than the legendary Giant’s Causeway, one of the United Kingdom’s greatest natural wonders. Literally the stuff of legend, the myth of the Causeway’s origin is as memorable as the geological formation itself. The story tells of an Irish giant named Finn MacCool who challenged his Scottish rival, Benandonner, to a duel. The two giants, inhabiting opposite sides of the sea of Moyle, began to connect the coasts with a highway of stone. But as Benandonner approached, Finn MacCool realized his pride had gotten the best of his judgment— Benandonner was over twice his size! Fearing for his life, the Irish giant ran home, where his wife fastened a bonnet around his head and told him to feign sleep. Moments later, Benandonner barged into Finn’s house only to see “Baby” MacCool sleeping soundly in the corner. The Scottish giant, overcome with fear —if this is the child, imagine the size of the father— fled to his homeland, tearing away the stones as he fled. What remains of that ancient, watery highway are the rambling stones of the Giant’s Causeway.

Our aging Irish escort could only take us so far on our journey to this coastal legend. He left us at a crossroads, wishing us the best of luck. A series of locals, a young store clerk recently turned Baptist preacher and a mother of two whose children sat on each other’s lap to make room for our packs, carried us the rest of the way. Upon our arrival, we realized our hitchhiking adventure had been a success; we were the first travelers to arrive at the Giant’s Causeway.

Unlike many sites officially declared by the state to be worth visiting, the Causeway is not closed off by ropes. There is no path that visitors must follow, no gift shop to walk through on the way out. Miles of trails ramble up the hillsides and down the rocky beaches. Understated plaques speckle the area, informing visitors of the igneous activity that created the otherworldly formation of hexagonal pillars. Visitors can climb down to the water and watch the tide pools swirl or pick up slabs of rock to examine the crystalline structure unhindered by park rangers or signs with lists of Dos and Don’ts.

We had been correct in our assessment that the Causeway is a place that requires solitude and silence to be fully appreciated. Our long journey that morning allowed us to experience the Causeway as though we had stumbled upon some secret treasure, but I cannot say the same of the experiences of others. Walking up the path to the bus stop, watching the first busload of visitors pour in with cameras and guidebooks full of geological trivia, I was proud that we had chosen a different approach. We had gotten a true sense of the place— its philosophy of life, its personality.

Ask me which I remember more clearly: historical facts and geological trivia or this intangible sense, a mix of a seventy-year-old Irish accent telling of ancient legend and the smell of the cold ocean air.

Further Information

Travel tips: If at all possible, travelers should try to visit at a time when the Causeway is not highly trafficked. This will make the experience far more rewarding.