Located in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, the Giant's Causeway is a series of stunning and unique basalt columns. And legend has it the columns are the remains of a path or causeway built by a giant named Finn Mc Cool.

The story goes that Finn, the Irish giant, was challenged to a fight by his Scottish neighbour Benandonner. Apparently the Scottish contender was much bigger than Finn and to prevent an outright embarrassing loss, Finn pretended to be a baby and hid in a cradle. On seeing this Benandonner reckoned that if Finn was the 'baby' then the father must be monstrous. So Benandonner fled back to Scotland, breaking the causeway behind him to ensure a safe getaway.

And it just so happens that across the sea there are identical basalt columns at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa. In reality the basalt columns known as Giant's Causeway were formed 60 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity. The 38 000 basalt columns were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and a National Nature Reserve in 1987.

They are a much loved and visited site in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately in 2000, the site's visitor centre was lost in a devastating fire. In its place, the National Trust sought to develop new, world-class visitor facilities, improve trail paths protect this unique area for everyone to enjoy. And Trafalgar, a leading guided holiday company, stepped in to help provide the necessary funding through their TreadRight Foundation.

Trafaglar's support helped to build a new visitors centre that fits into the environment and in keeping with TreadRight's eco-conscious principles, this centre adheres to the highest standards of environmental sustainability.

For more information on how Trafalgar preserves, protects and promotes both manmade and natural heritage visit treadright.org. To learn more about Trafalgar as a travel company contact your ASATA travel agent or Trafalgar on (011) 280 8400. Visit www.trafalgar.com and follow us: #TrafalagarInsider.

About Trafalgar

Trafalgar is the world's leading guided holiday company offering exceptional quality and value itineraries to a range of exciting destinations. With over 67 years of experience and unrivalled local expertise, Trafalgar provides an authentic insider's view to create truly unique travel experiences in Europe, Britain and Eastern Mediterranean, Australia and New Zealand, China, Mexico, Central and South America, USA and Canada.

About The TreadRight Foundation                                             

Trafalgar is a part of a joint initiative with The TreadRight Foundation. Created as a joint initiative between The Travel Corporation's family of brands, the TreadRight Foundation is a not-for-profit working to ensure the environment and communities we visit remain vibrant for generations to come.

To date, TreadRight has donated more than USD 2.5 million to sustainable tourism projects worldwide. The Foundation's guiding principle is to encourage sustainable tourism development through conservation, leadership and support for communities. Foundation priorities are set by the Steering Committee, which includes sustainability leaders like Céline Cousteau and Costas Christ.

TreadRight's past project partners include WWF, Conservation International and The National Trust in the UK. Current initiatives include sponsoring the National Geographic Society's inaugural “World Legacy Awards,” WildAid and inspiring wildlife advocates like Terri Irwin.

To learn more about our past and current work at TreadRight, please visit us at treadright.org.

Media Contact:

Amanda Hardy
Public Relations
TRAFALGAR
T 011 – 280 8401 or 083 308 7447
E: amanda.hardy@travcorp.net