The Rock of Gibraltar (1704-Present)

 Most visitors to the Rock's many attractions, take the cable car from the Almeda Gardens (previously the Royal Navy Parade Ground) up to the Top Station. After a stroll along the Skywalk and a visit to the spectacular St Michael's Cave, many will walk back to town via the steep descent or use the cable car again. For reasons which are less obvious now than they were at the time, I decided to walk up via the Moorish Castle on the northern end and then continue on foot to the southern end. After over 20,000 steps, I'd covered the ground I wanted to, and in doing so had treated myself to a seriously impressive cardio-workout! There is much of interest - with extensive military fortifications and installations peppered on every peak, not to mention the extensive network of tunnels below. 

The Rock of Gibraltar - From the South

To access the Gibraltar Nature Reserve, (which covers most of The Rock) it is necessary to buy a day-ticket. I bought mine at the entrance to the Moorish Castle. Parts of the castle date back to 1160  and over the ensuing six centuries the fortifications were extended and strengthened. The army of Queen Isabella of Spain kicked the Moors off the Rock in 1501. In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, an Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar and despite Spanish attempts to regain the territory, it has remained British ever since. There is not much of the Moorish Castle left now, a lot of what did remain, was destroyed during the 'Great Siege' (1779-1783) when the British successfully defended the territory against a series of ferocious attacks. Of the structures, hardware and fortifications still extant on The Rock most relates to the Great Siege or another, later, time of great jeopardy - the Second World War.

Replica Spitfire Mk.11a P8394, 'Gibraltar'

Princess Caroline's Battery, Gibraltar

I had hoped to visit what the tourist brochures describe as 'World War II Tunnels', however I only got as far as the first cavern before being told that the attraction was closed for major refurbishment work. It seems that a substantial revamp is underway and judging by the full-size replica Spitfire that has already been installed, the finished article should be impressive.  No matter - there was plenty more to see and to be honest, I sort of prefer raw uninterpreted historic military installations! 

Continuing up the the track which leads from Willis's Road, one comes across the Princess Caroline's Battery and Military Heritage Centre. The battery saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar but the current layout dates from 1905 when a 6-inch Mk VII gun was installed. In the armoury and accommodation blocks below there is a small museum containing various relics dating from the eighteenth century to the present day.

Koehler Depressing Carriage in Casement Square

The so-called 'Great Siege Tunnel' are astonishing. Part of this extensive network is open to the public and as one walks through the passageways a series of information panels tells of the drama of those four years. There are dozens of 19th Century era RML (Rifled Muzzle Loading) guns placed in the original gun positions, all pointing through apertures overlooking what is now Gibraltar Airport and the Spanish border beyond. Because of the angle of attack, a way had to be found of depressing the elevation of the guns on The Rock. The answer was 'the Koehler Depressing Carriage' - the example pictured above is surrounded by revellers at the 2024 Christmas Lights 'switch-on'.

Beyond the main gallery of the main 19th Century gallery, there is a long tunnel leading to a gun position in the cliff on the eastern side of the Rock. This is the Holyland Tunnel which was built by 34 Pioneer co. Royal Engineers in 1940. The video below gives a sense of the length. The position at the end of the tunnel was home to 4x3 Inch Mortars, 1x 2 Inch Mortar and 2 Bren Guns until 1944. 

Watch out for the Apes!

Having explored the tunnels, a one and half hour walk (mostly uphill) leads to the Cable Car Top Station the skywalk and then on to the Rock's highest peak - O'Hara's battery at 426m. The battery was built on the site of an old watchtower in 1890 and is named after the (then) Governor of Gibraltar Charles O'Hara. The battery and the one nearby (Lord Airey's Battery) saw action during the Second World War and the massive 9.2 Inch Mark X BL (Breech Loading) Gun which is still there, was last fired during a training exercise in 1976. Part of the area is still in use by the military but it is possible to explore the chamber underneath, which houses an ammunition store and the mechanism for traversing the gun. 

9.2 Inch Mark X Gun - Lord Airey's Battery

When exploring the Rock be careful of the famous apes though. They lurk around the spots where tourists tend to congregate and will scavenge at every opportunity. Get too close and they will pinch food from your rucksack or even take your mobile phone - to be returned in exchange for half a sandwich. I kept my distance! Don't be put-off a visit though, stay clear of them and they won't bother you. 

This is the third and final Gibraltar battlefield walk. For 'Europa Point (1895-1945)' click here and for 'HMS Victory in Rosia Bay (28 September 1805)' click here.

For my full portfolio of Gibraltar photographs on Flickr, click here. 

Europa Point, Gibraltar (1859-1945)

 Europa Point is not the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, but it might as well be. The Rif Mountains of Morocco are prominent on the horizon across the busy sea lanes of the Straits and it is immediately evident why, in military terms, Gibraltar is so strategically important.  The occupation of the Rock of Gibraltar means controlling access to the Mediterranean Sea. I travelled to Europa Point from the main Gibraltar bus station just a few miles distant, to the north of Casements Square. It is possible to walk anywhere in Gibraltar but a £6 rover ticket means one can cover more ground if time is short. It is worth the ride, there is plenty to see and explore.

Morocco from a WW2 Searchlight Bunker, Europa Point

Alighting from the bus, I headed for the cricket stadium recently built on flat ground in the shadow of the Rock. Glancing back one can just about make out O'Hara's Battery up on the hilltop way above the minaret of the Ibraham-al-Ibraham Mosque - one of two religious buildings at Europa Point, the other being the Roman Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Europe. Following the path around the front of the cricket stadium, I noticed a number of pill-boxes which had been incorporated into modern sea defences. At the western end a gateway leads to a series of steps descending down to what was, until 1945, known as 'Wireless Beach'. The Royal Navy establishment at the bottom of the cliff is now a collection of holiday villas - some newly built, others having been established from repurposed military buildings. Just to the east of the complex is a pillbox built by 575 Army Troop Company of the Royal Engineers, with help from men from the Second Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, in 1942.

Site of Royal Navy Wireless Station with Defensive Pillbox

Nowadays he Royal Navy, under the auspices of NATO, monitors sea and air traffic from the Windmill Hill Signal Station which is up on the Rock, about a third of a mile from Wireless Beach. With over 60,000 ships entering the Med through the Gibraltar Straits, there is plenty to keep an eye on! Retreading the path down, I climbed the stairs to the top of the cliff and explored some of the World War two era structures that are still extant. These include the searchlight post shown in the image above, and one can imagine observers using the powerful beams to spot the tell tale wake of a submarine periscope or to track German raiders banking around to attack the busy airfield on the northern side of the Rock.

Europa Point, Searchlight Post on the Right of Image

On the promenade above Wireless Beach there is a striking memorial to General Wladyslaw Sikorski, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army in Exile 1939-43. The General was killed on the 4th July 1943 when the B-24 in which he was travelling, crashed nearby with the loss of fifteen lives. The current memorial which includes the propeller from the crashed aeroplane was dedicated in a ceremony on the 4th Jult 2013, the 70th anniversary of the crash. It is the third such memorial and the only one to have been displayed at Europa Point - the others were located near Gibraltar Airport where lack of accessibility was proving to be an issue. A nearby display panel laments the fact that 'Poland paid for its participation in World War II, which had caused enormous human losses (almost 20% inhabitants), by losing half of its territory (as the only allied state to suffer this), as well as losing its sovereignty for the following 45 years.'

The Sikorski Memorial

Before jumping on a bus back into town, there was just enough time to explore whai is probably the most striking attraction at Europa Point. Harding's Battery (named after Sir George Harding, British Army Chief Engineer in 1844) originally mounted two 32-pounder cannon. The single 12.5 RML (Rifled Muzzle-Loading) gun on traversing carriage which can still be seen today was installed in 1878. A plan to replace the RML gun with a 9.2. Inch Coastal Defence Gun in 1904, was never implemented. The RML was temporarily removed at the start of World War II at which point a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun was deployed at the battery.

The RML Gun at Harding's Battery

According to a Gibraltar Chronicle article dated 13th April 2014, Harding's Battery was abandoned and covered in a mound of sand after the Second World War, but was unearthed in March 2010 as part of a £4.4m refurbishment project for Europa Point. The magazine below the gun pit was converted into a visitor centre (which is well worth a short visit). The RML gun, which is identical to the original, was retrieved from elsewhere in Gibraltar and remounted on a replica carriage funded by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

This is the second of my three Gibraltar walks. The first covering the Nelson's time at Rosia Bay can be found here. The third, covering the tunnels and batteries up on the Rock of Gibraltar will be posted in a couple of weeks' time. My photographs of Europa Point can be found here.