Tourists issued warning after coins damage UK’s world heritage site
National Trust faces hefty bill for tourist damage to much-loved site
- The National Trust has warned that visitors are damaging the Giant's Causeway, a World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland, by inserting coins into the cracks of its basalt rock columns.
- The coins rust and expand, causing the surrounding rock to crumble and stain.
- The National Trust estimates that removing the coins will cost over £30,000 and has appealed to visitors to stop leaving coins at the site to preserve it for future generations.
- A report by The British Geological Survey found that the rusting coins expand up to three times their original thickness, putting pressure on the rock and causing it to disintegrate.
- Specialists in stone conservation have been employed to remove the coins.