Finn Mccool And The Griant’s Causeway

FINN MCCOOL AND THE GRIANT’S CAUSEWAY
Since the 18th century The Giant's Causeway has often been described as 'The Eighth Wonder Of The World' and once you have visited the site you will quickly see why.
The area consists of an estimated 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns, which were formed during a volcano eruption 60 million years ago.
Strangely, the Causeway is thought to have lainundiscovered by the outside world until a visit in 1692 from the Bishop Of Derry (Londonderry). The Bishop alerted authorities in Dublin, who then notified learned circles in London. Many papers were produced and many theories on how it had been formed were put forward.
Many of these theories were deeply rooted in science and although very valid, they make a very boring read. My favourite explanation of howthe Giant's Causeway came to be lies in the legend of Finn McCool.
Finn McCool
Finn McCool (Fionn mac Cumhail) an Irish Giant lived on an Antrim headland and one day when going about his daily business a Scottish Giant named Fingal began to shout insults and hurl abuse from across the channel. In anger Finn lifted a clod of earth and threw it at the giant as a challenge, the earth landed in thesea.
Fingal retaliated with a rock thrown back at Finn and shouted that Finn was lucky that he wasn't a strong swimmer or he would have made sure he could never fight again.
Finn was enraged and began lifting huge clumps of earth from the shore, throwing them so as to make a pathway for the Scottish giant to come and face him. However by the time he finished making the crossing he had not sleptfor a week and so instead devised a cunning plan to fool the Scot.
Finn diguised himself as a baby in a cot and when his adversary came to face him Finn's wife told the Giant that Finn was away but showed him his son sleeping in the cradle. The Scottish giant became apprehensive, for if the son was so huge, what size would the father be?
In his haste to escape Fingal sped back along thecauseway Finn had built, tearing it up as he went. He is said to have fled to a cave on Staffa which is to this day named 'Fingal's Cave'.
Other versions of the legend include Finn throwing a huge piece of earth which then became the Isle Of Man and the hole which it left behind became Lough Neagh.

THE DIAMOND HEART, KING’S LYNN
King's Lynn is one of the architectural treasure houses of East Anglia,whose most fascinating area is the Tuesday Market, with a rich selection of Georgian and other buildings. 
On the north side of the market square stands house number 15-16; set very prominently into the red-brick above one of its windows is a rather inexpertly carved diamond, within which sits a still more crudely carved heart. The lack of skill could lead you to think this is the work of apassing vandal, were it not for the fact that the heart is more than ten feet above the ground.
The carving commemorates something far more sinister, or so it is said, than some passing love. For as well as being a trading place, the Tuesday Market was for many years the spot where Lynn carried out its executions.
There are several versions of the legend surrounding the heart, with variations inmethod of execution, crime and person. The two most commonly told are a tale of witchcraft and another of treachery.
The witch's tale is simple enough. Margaret Read was burned at the stake here in 1590, and when the flames were devouring her of a sudden her heart exploded from her body and smashed against the wall now marked with the heart. According to several tellings things didn't finish there -the beating organ rolled all the way to the Ouse and disappeared into the waters.
The second story is somewhat sadder. A housemaid let slip to her new lover that her widowed and childless mistress had promised to leave her fortune to said maid. Soon after he had sworn to marry the wench, doubtless with much wicked twirling of moustaches, and she had made her own will in his favour, the old...