After an early breakfast we made the short walk from the hotel to the cable car having pre-booked tickets for our one-way cable car ride and entrance to the Nature Reserve.
The ride to the top of the Rock gives very good views of the Bay of Gibraltar and the town, marinas and airport of Gibraltar that are mostly situated on the Bay side of the Rock.
Map by Visit Gibraltar
The map above (that is supplied free by Visit Gibraltar) shows the whole of the Rock and surrounding areas including the Nature Reserve and the various attractions. We used this map to plan our walking tour from the top cable car station back into the Main Street of the town. It is possible to visit the viewing area at the top cable car station and return by the cable car if you do not want to walk down, but walking down gives access to all the attractions and requires a Nature Reserve ticket to be purchased as well as one for the cable car. Tickets for some of the attractions need to be purchased upon entry also.
The views from the cable car top station were spectacular particularly as the weather was clear and sunny. We arrived early in the morning and it was a bit chilly with a brisk wind but as we walked down it warmed up as we were on the Bay side of the Rock and the wind was coming from the Mediterranean Sea side.
View towards the town, airport and border with Spain
Sandy Bay beach
After we left the top cable car station we walked into the Nature Reserve and O’Hara’s Battery which is the highest point of the Rock being 426m (1400 feet). On the way we met our first Macaques that we expected would be in great numbers all over the Nature Reserve. There were only about 10 in this location and they seemed well behaved until one lady got too close and the Macaque jumped on her back and started pulling her hair.
We walked on to O’Hara’s Battery which included a steep section up to the highest point of the Rock. All the roads/paths are in good order and some are wide enough for taxis and small tour buses.
O’Hara’s Battery is named after General Charles O’Hara who was Governor of Gibraltar between 1795 and 1802. It was originally the location of an unsuccessful attempt to build a watchtower from which the garrison could see any possible enemy in Cadiz harbour, which is an incredible 100 kms (60 miles) away. As this purpose failed, the garrison began referring to the tower, amongst other names, as O’Hara’s folly. The tower survived until 1888 when it was demolished and the first 6 inch gun was mounted in 1890. This was replaced in 1901 by a 9.2 inch cannon with a range of 26km due to its height above sea level. In theory, its range would allow the gun to shoot right across the strait of Gibraltar reaching the North African shore. O’Hara’s Battery remained active during WWII with its gun last firing during a training exercise in 1976.
After we had visited O’Hara’s Battery we walked downhill to St Michael’s Cave. St Micheal’s Cave was long-believed to be bottomless and there are various stories about who lived there over many centuries. During WWII the cave was prepared as an emergency hospital but was never used as such. The cave is now open to visitors and has been used as a theatre with 600 seats since the early sixties. When one visits the cave there is a light and sound show that is projected around the main cavern.
The theatre in the main cavern
Stalactites in the Cave
After the Cave we walked the length of the Nature Reserve to Great Siege Tunnels which were dug during the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783. Due to high winds that morning, the Great Siege Tunnels were shut for safety reasons so we moved on towards the WWII tunnels further down the hill. On the way we passed the Military Heritage Centre which was also closed that day, but there was a great view over the Gibraltar airport which is interesting as a public road runs across the runway. This road is these days only open to pedestrians and bicycle riders as cars have a new road that goes around the end of the runway into the town.
The airport looking across the border into Spain
We then walked down the hill to the Lime Kiln – Willis’s Road, which had been restored by the Gibraltar National Museum and Ministry for Heritage. The Rock is a Jurassic limestone massif so the abundance of limestone has been exploited since medieval times. By the late 19th/early 20th century two kilns were built to make quicklime for use in the construction of Gibraltar’s water catchments and underground reservoirs.
The Lime Kiln
We then walked a little further to the City under Siege Exhibition in the Old Willis’s Magazine that shows what life was like for the population (who were mostly the Armed Forces) during the early years of the British occupation of the Rock. The various exhibits show life issues such as the food they ate, how punishment was administered, death and disease, and water. It is worth visiting as it gives a good overview of the challenges that the early British occupants endured. There was some interesting graffiti from the 1730s to 1760s which was carved in the lime mortar by soldiers on tedious guard duty.
Punishment 18th Century style
Our next stop was the WWII tunnels where we were told about the military significance of Gibraltar. At the start of WWII, the civilian population was evacuated to the UK and the Rock became a military garrison. With a hostile Spain next door, and the area of the Rock being so small, storage became an urgent issue so that food and equipment could be stored safely and siege accommodation could be available for troops.
New tunnels were dug by the Royal Engineers and Canadian Army. A new main base was established in the southeastern part of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean coast, which potentially shielded it from the Spanish mainland, and new tunnels were created to link this with the established military bases on the west side.
A pair of tunnels called the Great North Road and the Fosse Way were excavated running nearly the full length of the Rock to interconnect the bulk of the wartime tunnels. The entire garrison of 16,000 could be housed with enough food for 16 months. There was an underground telephone exchange, a power generating station, a water distillation plant, a hospital, a bakery, ammunition magazines and a vehicle maintenance shop all within the tunnels. The total length of the entire tunnel system in the Rock is approximately 55 kms (34 miles).
A visit to the WWII Tunnels is a must for those interested in the recent history of Gibraltar and is well worth the walk to reach it.
We then walked a short distance to the Moorish Castle. The fortifications on and around the site of the Castle were first built in 1160 or maybe earlier. These were destroyed when the Spanish re-conquered Gibraltar from 1309 to 1333. The Tower of Homage, the castle’s main feature, dominates the hillside and was rebuilt from about 1333 when Abu’l Hassan recaptured Gibraltar from the Spanish. The Tower of Homage shows the battle scars inflicted during various sieges. The courtyard of the Moorish Castle served as a prison until 2010.
The Moorish Castle
The Moorish Castle is near the lower exit of the Nature Reserve so we exited and walked down the narrow streets of the town to Main Street for a much-anticipated cup of coffee and a sit down.
After a long day we walked back to the Hotel for dinner and a discussion on our plans for Day 3.
Copyright: Words and Photos John Cruse 2024. Map: Visit Gibraltar.