Exploring Gibraltar then off to Jerez (112km)

Despite our initial reservations after the long drive down, Gibraltar was starting to exceed our expectations. We had picked up a £1 tourist map yesterday evening and had made a plan for the day. We were heading over this time on bikes with the plan of heading initially East and cycling the full circumference of the island. We had looked at the cable car options and the Nature Reserve, but they did not allow dogs so we would be limited with Winnie along in the bike basket.

We headed across the border this time cycling across the runway and then followed the main road East which took us along the high cliffed Mediterranean coast line on the only road on this side of the Island. Some areas ran down to small beaches and were lined with pretty houses while other areas were rugged and wild. To continue along this side, a long steep uphill tunnel had been carved through the side of the rock to get to the southern most point. With the extra weight of Winnie in her basket and a strength disadvantage on the boys I found myself watching them heading off into the dark and a strong feeling of claustrophobia came over me so I had to get off and push the bike until I found Chris waiting for me around the corner and the end of the tunnel in the distance.

The Mediterranean coastline looking back North and then South towards the lighthouse:

Once out the other side we had a great ride around the South East corner to the southern point (Europa Point) and Trinity lighthouse, where the coastline of North Africa could be seen ghost like in the haze. The African coast was a mere 15miles across the straight of Gibraltar and it felt exhilarating to see it looming across the water. The largest peak is that of Jebel Musa with Ceuta to the East and Punta Cires to the West. This is the point where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic

Once we had explored the monuments and war memorials on this Southern point and made the most of the spectacular views we headed back round the Europa Road and then Windmill Hill upto 'Pillars of Hercules' Viewpoint at Jew's Gate. This is the entrance to the Nature Reserve and a host of other attractions we did not think we could access with the dog, but once we battled the steep hill up, we noticed a sign saying 'dogs on leads in the reserve', so we asked at the ticket office and they said we could take her in but that the Monkeys hate dogs and can attack them 😨. Luckily Chris was wearing my Backpack and I knew that if you wore it on your front you could use it as a pouch for Winnie so she could be away from the evil Gibraltan Barbary Apes.

These Barbary Apes are in fact a type of Macaque (Monkey not Ape) introduced to the Island in the 12th & 13th Centuries by the Moors from the mountains of Morocco and now live in packs on the upper rock within the reserve. Once in the reserve we locked our bikes up and walked up to St Michaels Cave where we had a well needed drink in the bar before the boys headed off into the cave while I looked after Winnie, then Jack sat with Winnie while I went into the cave with Chris. There are thought to be over 140 caves within Gibraltars Rock, but this is the most famous and it did not disappoint. It is proven that Neanderthal man lived in Gibraltar and may have first set foot in this cave around 40,000BC. The Limestone cave was vast and filled with Stalagmites and stalactites and had an area used for concerts and theatre performances due to its natural acoustics and auditorium.

As we walked on up to O'Haras Battery, one of the highest Southerly viewpoints we considered the labarynth of tunnels beneath us. There are 34 miles of tunnels constructed over the course of 200 years of history principally by the British army, within the land area of only 2.6 square miles of Island. They were started during the Great Siege (1779-83). Unfortunately we did not visit the 'City Under Siege' Exhibition again due to dog restrictions, but we enjoyed taking the skywalk to Douglas Lookout and then from O'Haras Battery took the old Mediterranean steps on the long steep walk down the East cliff face, through a tunnel and on round the south of the higher rock back to our start point at Jew's Gate.

View from the Skywalk