Gibraltar 'The Rock'

Excavations at the Gibraltar Museum

Having moved BV across to a marina in Gibraltar we were perfectly positioned to spend Tuesday 16 July doing the tourist bit. The morning we spent in the Gibraltar Museum. We learnt a great deal. For example, we discovered that the first Neanderthal skull was found in Gibraltar but non-one realised its significance and it was only after the 'first' Neanderthal skull was discovered in Germany (and named Neanderthal Man) that the Gibraltarian skull was re-examined and found to be that of a female member of the same species – too late for renaming though!

There were also Moorish steam baths in amazing condition and excavations showing several milenia of water management. All of that plus the more modern history since the Brits took over; it turned out to be an absolute bargain at £2 per head.

Learning about the early Moorish control of Gibraltar explained many of the architectual influences we had seen walking around the town. It also highlighted that we should try to visiting the Tower of Homage which overlooks the city.

The Tower of Homage, a Moorish Castle built from AD 711

Our afternoon was to be spent marching up ‘The Rock’ and what better place to start than the Moorish castle we thought. We also decided that using the cablecar would be cheating so set off on foot just after lunch. When we arrived at the castle to buy our tickets the chap in the ticket office looked at us a bit sideways when we said that we planned to do the Upper Rock and its sights on foot.  "It's 4km up and down to get from here to St Michael's Cave" he pointed out and the last entry to any of the Upper Rock attractions is at 1845.  At that point it was about 1400 so we told him that we would need to do the Rock 'at the rush', bought our tickets and cracked on!

The view over Gibraltar from the Tower of Homage

Some of the cannon ports

The view across the border to Spain and over the city from the Tower of Homage was amazing and certainly whetted our apetites for what we would see when we got up to the top of the Rock. But there was a lot more than just the peak on our tickets so we left the castle behind us and climbed on up the hill to take a look at some of the fortifications.

As we climbed higher we could clearly see holes in the side of the Rock facing Spain. These turned out to be connected by a tunnel dug during the Great Siege (1779-1783). The aim initially was to try reach ‘the Notch’, a ledge part way up the cliff, with a view to mounting cannon on it.

Part way through blasting the tunnel an air hole was cut outwards to the cliff-face. Suddenly it became clear what a perfect firing point this ventilation hole was and the plan to mount guns on top of the Notch was changed to mounting them in embrasures cut inside the Rock.

The scale of it all was amazing. Most of the cannon are also still in position. That’s the big difference between Gibraltar and other fortifications we have visited; normally you have to imagine the weapons which have long since been removed and the metal reused. In Gibraltar there are old cannon everywhere.

King Charles V Wall

Most people seem to tour the Rock by official taxi which takes them to all the viewpoints etc.  The roads are so narrow up there that there is a one-way system around the Upper Rock and some of the roads are not open to private cars. Starting at the Moorish Castle we were going the opposite way round to the taxis which worked out very well in enabling us to easily and successfully dive for cover when the taxis came hurtling around the corner.


We climbed higher, initially using the roads, but before long we were at the foot of the King Charles V Wall built in 1540 to protect the city. Our route to the top of the Rock became obvious; straight up the steps running along the top of the wall. Nicky counted about 550 steps before she lost count and all I could think of was that “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”.

Queensway Quay Marina and ‘the Island’

As we paused for breath we got a great view of BV moored in Queensway Quay Marina. On the seaward side of the marina is ‘the Island’ with 20 mansions. If the window of the estate agents is to be believed you wouldn’t get much change from £4million for one of these. Seems like a lot for a semi-detached house, even if it does have a swimming pool in the garden, but then we do like to have nice neighbours where we park BV!

After all of the exertion of the climb we were able to meet the famous ‘Barbary Apes’ or, more accurately, Barbary Macaques. There are about 300 of these tailless monkeys living in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve; perhaps the most famous Gibraltar tourist attraction. Until 1991 they were looked after by the British Army and the Gibraltar Regiment with an officer appointed to supervise their welfare and a budget allocated for fruit vegetables and nuts for them. Any apes born were named and gazettedin the same newspaper that military prompotions are anounced. Amazingly, any ill or injured ape was taken to the Royal Navy Military Hospital for treatment and surgery. I'm not sure who was treated better, the mokeys or the soldiers..

A scene from ‘Aliens’?

The next big tourist attraction for us was St Michael's Cave. This network of limestone chambers is filled with stalactites and stalagmites and the largest chamber, the Cathedral Cave, has been turned into an auditorium apparently because of the chamber’s natural acoustic properties. It would certainly be an unusual venue to hear a concert but in places it looked more like a scene from the film ‘Aliens’ than a concert hall.

The caves have an interesting history with prehistoric artefacts found, evidence of military use right back to Moorish times, lost explorers whose remains have never been found and legends that the caves reach right underneath the Strait of Gibraltar and provided a route here from Morocco for the Barbary apes.

All in all though, it is a really impressive place to visit.

O’Hara’s Battery with 200 ton 9.2 inch guns and Nicky looking across the Strait at Jebel Musa in Morocco 

After the cool of St Michael's Cave it was back into the heat and more climbing. Working our way south we visited all of the highest points on the Rock using the more off-the-beaten-track paths through the foliage. We got some great views across the Strait to the southern Pillar of Hercules, Jebel Musa in Morocco. On the way, we also started to get sight of our chosen route down, the Mediterranean Steps.



The Mediterranean Steps were created in the 18^th century to link fortified positions. They route from O’Hara’s Battery on the southern-most peak almost straight down about 250 metres and then around the southern shoulder of the Rock to the Jews Gate. As you can see from the photo on the right it’s quite an intimidating route down, often on uneven limestone steps cut into the rock. The views, however, were breathtaking (and would definitely be if you came up this route) and we were really pleased to have done it. Unique flora, amazing views, the sense of being in the wilderness and no taxis to dodge; well done the Bonita Trust for restoring the steps in 2007.

From the Jews Gate it was a much gentler incline on roads back to the marina. A busy afternoon; despite the ticket seller’s concern at the Moorish Castle we’d covered the Upper Rock in 4½ hours which we thought fully justified a cool beer on BV whilst we rested our feet. With the Upper Rock ‘done’ we also concluded that it was time to start heading east and further into the Mediterranean.