A visitor tradition that may once have seemed harmless has become a conservation headache at Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway. More than 20kg of coins, estimated at around 10,000 pieces, have been removed from the famous basalt rock formations after visitors repeatedly pushed them into cracks and gaps.
The coins were often left as good-luck gestures or tokens of affection. But over the years, thousands ended up wedged deep inside the rocks, with some visitors even using stones to force them further in.
