Gobbins path

The Gobbins is a cliff-face running from Whitehead to Portmuck Harbour along the eastern coast of Islandmagee, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the Causeway Coastal Route. The Gobbins cliff path runs across bridges, past caves and through a tunnel, along The Gobbins cliffs (Irish: Gobán meaning "tip/point of land" or "headland"). The cliffs are recognised for their rich birdlife, important geology and notable species. James Kerr lost his life by falling over the Gobbins cliffs on 11 Jun 1892 aged 14 years when collecting seagull eggs and he is interred in the nearby Ballypriormore Cemetery. The Gobbins cliff path was created by an Irish railway engineer called Berkeley Deane Wise. He designed and built the path as a tourist attraction for the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway Company. The path first opened to the public in 1902, with visitors paying 6d to enjoy a 'perfect marvel of engineering'. The Gobbins drew worldwide acclaim, with newspapers declaring that 'the varied beauty of this cliff path baffles all description'. Thousands of people visited The Gobbins in the first few decades of the 20th century – advertisements of the time declared 'the new cliff path along The Gobbins Cliffs, with its ravines, bore caves, natural aquariums ... has no parallel in Europe as a marine cliff walk'. However, the railway company got into financial difficulties during the 1930s; upkeep slipped and the path was closed in the run-up to World War II. The Gobbins cliff path was briefly reopened by the Ulster Transport Authority after the war but closed in 1954. Several abortive attempts were made by government and individuals to restore the path. From 2011-2015 Larne Borough Council led a project to reopen The Gobbins cliff path. A series of new bridges and galleries were constructed and installed during 2014–15. The work was funded by the European Union's Interreg IVA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and administered by the North East…