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The cliff path has been named the cleanest hiking trail in the UK by Independent Cottages – though the route is impacted by rockfall and has some impressive drops along the way

A dizzying cliff path overlooking a churning sea has been crowned the UK’s cleanest hiking trail.

The Gobbins, an extraordinary and awe-inspiring route that stretches for three miles along the treacherous cliffs of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, has clinched the top spot in Independent Cottages’ ranking of the UK’s cleanest walking trails. Remarkably, there were no mentions of uncleanliness across more than 1,300 reviews.

The Gobbins presents a surreal landscape, born from colossal geological forces and subsequently shaped by the elements. Today, it teems with life and has been captivating courageous visitors for over a hundred years.

The tale of The Gobbins begins some 200 million years ago when the Earth’s continents were united in the supercontinent, Pangaea. The land that would eventually become northeast Ireland was submerged beneath a warm, shallow sea.

Algae and single-celled organisms thrived in these waters, their calcium carbonate shells slowly accumulating layers of calcium on the seafloor after they died, which solidified into a limestone layer, reports the Express.

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Milo Boyd

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This is what gave rise to the coastlines and caves that are dotted across Ireland today. This stone forms the bedrock of The Gobbins’ spectacular rock formations.

Atop this lies basalt, a product of eruptions from now long-extinct volcanoes, which has been fractured and moulded by the shifting bedrock of tectonic plates as Pangaea separated, and later, vast ice sheets during ice ages.

The outcome is one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline found anywhere across the British Isles, which happens to offer countless habitats for diverse birds and marine creatures. For instance, the Gobbins hosts Northern Ireland’s sole mainland colony of puffins, which nest in the cliff-face earth disturbed by ancient glaciers.

“Guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, and kittiwakes make their homes high in the rocks and scan the waters from perches on the sea stacks. The depths teem with fish, feeding in the plankton-rich waters of the North Channel. Lion’s Mane jellyfish, one of the largest such species, migrate through here, providing prey for seals, porpoises and other marine mammals,” the official Gobbins Cliff Path website writes.

“Low tide exposes the rockpools under the path, a home for molluscs, sponges and weird nodules of red seaweed. Spleenwort ferns, kidney vetch, and sea campion cling to cracks in the rocks or hold down patches of volcanic soil.”

The stunning natural landscape has transformed this location into an essential walking destination, first attracting masses of nature enthusiasts and day visitors during the Victorian era. Berkeley Deane Wise played a crucial role in shaping the Gobbins into what it is today.

This civil engineer, who had climbed to the position of Chief Engineer of the Belfast and County Down Railway and had created a groundbreaking signalling system that cut accidents on his routes, possessed a dedication to safety and fascinating design. Amongst his creations are the mock Tudor structure and clock tower in Portrush, plus walkways and a tearoom in Glenariff Forest that offer a superb view of its woodland and waterfalls.

The Gobbins Cliff Path is widely regarded as his most significant achievement and perfectly captures his brilliance as an engineer dedicated to helping ordinary folk enjoy remarkable experiences.

Construction commenced in 1901 and spanned several years, given the challenge of transporting steel girder bridges manufactured in Belfast via barges and rafts. These were subsequently hoisted into position using lines lowered from the clifftop.

The pathway became enormously popular and drew vast numbers of tourists from throughout the British Isles. “There is, in short, nothing like The Gobbins anywhere else in the world,” noted a correspondent in the Proceedings of the British Association in 1902.

A writer for The Sketch observed: “Surely there is something in the influence of the Irish climate which acts upon the rocks. The tints are softer and deeper. The very air is laden with poetry.”

Regrettably, the Gobbins route is currently shut due to rockfall. If you’re considering a trip, ensure you verify the official website for the latest information on its availability.

Jan. 8 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro held their first phone call Wednesday since the U.S. leader started his second term — a conversation described as “constructive” that could open a path to rebuilding a historically close relationship shaped by decades of cooperation on security and a fight against drug trafficking.

The more-than-40-minute conversation followed months of verbal escalation and administrative sanctions between the two governments and against a regionally tense backdrop after a U.S. operation led to the Jan. 3 capture in Caracas of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Hours after the call, Petro addressed a rally in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar, convened “in defense of sovereignty,” and acknowledged that he softened a previously tougher attitude after speaking with Trump.

“If there is no dialogue, there is war. Colombian history has taught us that,” Petro said, announcing he had requested the restoration of formal communication channels between Colombia’s Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department.

During his remarks, the Colombian president said the call covered counternarcotics cooperation and rejected accusations linking him to drug trafficking, stating that for more than two decades, he has confronted criminal organizations and allied politicians, according to Colombian outlet Noticias Caracol.

Petro said he presented Trump with official government figures, including drug seizure levels that he said reached 2,800 metric tons by year’s end, as well as the extradition of hundreds of narcotics leaders.

He also argued that, unlike previous administrations, his government halted the growth of coca crops, which he said doubled under former President Iván Duque, while increasing by no more than 10% during his tenure. Coca leaves are used to make cocaine.

Petro defended voluntary crop substitution over forced eradication, contending the latter increases violence in rural areas.

The Colombian leader added that he briefed Trump on coordination experiences with Venezuela in the fight against drug trafficking in border regions such as Catatumbo, one of the main illicit trafficking corridors, where guerrillas, dissidents and criminal gangs operate.

In a message posted on social media, Trump said it was “a great honor” to speak with Petro and that he looks forward to meeting him “soon.”

In the same message, he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Colombia’s foreign minister, Rosa Villavicencio, already are working on arrangements for a White House meeting.

Colombia’s ambassador to the United States, Daniel García-Peña, told Noticias RCN that the communication was facilitated by Republican Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and that Trump extended the invitation to meet in Washington.

The diplomat described the exchange as “an extraordinary call” and said both leaders focused on issues of shared interest.

The conversation took place amid heightened domestic political tension in Colombia, marked by growing polarization and public confrontation on social media, fueled by earlier statements from Trump.

In the preceding days, the U.S. president suggested that an operation similar to the one carried out in Venezuela also “sounds good” for Colombia — rhetoric that drew strong official rebukes in Bogotá.

Petro has been a persistent critic of U.S. operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, where U.S. forces have intercepted and sunk boats suspected of carrying drugs.

He has questioned that approach for its human cost, citing deaths reported during such operations.

In September, the U.S. government revoked Petro’s visa, and the Treasury Department later placed him, along with people in his inner circle, on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s sanctions list, known as the “Clinton List,” following accusations made by Trump that the Colombian government rejected and that were not accompanied by public evidence.

Despite recent friction, bilateral ties rest on a solid historical foundation. Colombia has for decades been one of Washington’s main partners in Latin America on security and counternarcotics.

In the early 2000s, cooperation was consolidated under Plan Colombia with an initial U.S.-approved aid package of $1.3 billion in 2000, and in 2022 Washington designated Colombia a “Major Non-NATO Ally,” a status reserved for strategic partners outside the alliance.

Under Petro’s government, that partnership has faced political strain, particularly over differences on counternarcotics policy and bilateral rhetoric in a more volatile regional environment.