The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a place of extremes; it is extremely small, it's got an extremely big rock and it's inhabitants are both extremely pro British and extremely pro EU. The airport sets the tone as it has been ranked the fifth most extreme airport in the world by the History Channel. The runway sticks out into the sea and is also part of the main road heading to the border with Spain.
As a person who regularly walks to St Mary's stadium via Mount Pleasant crossing I am used to seeing cars waiting patiently for trains to pass; but it was quite a new experience to see traffic waiting for a plane to take off.
Opinion is divided about Gibraltar. Some people seem to think it's just a version of little England filled with phone boxes and roads called Winston Churchill Avenue, and whilst there is a small amount of truth in this view, it is also packed with historical reference points. Still, lets have a look at some phone boxes first.
I have had the pleasure of visiting Gibraltar twice this year as my son works there. On the first visit we took the taxi tour to the rock and saw the apes and caves. There is an old saying that Gibraltar will cease to be British on the day there are no apes left on the rock. This is quite interesting as the animals aren't actually apes but are in fact Barbary macaques. They are impossibly cute, and the tourists (including me) love them.
It is no surprise that the Spanish would like Gibraltar to be part of their country, but this is only the latest in a very long line of ownership disputes. In fact an Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar in 1704 on behalf of a claimant to the Spanish throne, but then the British decided to keep Gibraltar for themselves. Natural caves and man made tunnels have formed part of the defences of the rock for hundreds of years and it has been an important strategic naval base. Nowadays it is a cruise ship destination.
On my first visit to Gibraltar Rob was my guide to the rock and to the town of La Linea which is just in Spain. La Linea is a very pleasant unpretentious place where you can get very cheap drinks as well as delicious food. The weather is warm enough to be able to sit outside most of the year, but what I liked most was jumping into a taxi and saying 'take me to the border'.
As Gibraltar is so tiny it is very built up indeed, and property is expensive - a seven bedroom flat was £10,900,000 - but it does have some green spaces, and one of these is the Trafalgar cemetery. Here is it's sign:
By some, it actually mean the remains of two people who fought at Trafalgar; but there are also many interesting graves of victims of other battles, and diseases such as yellow fever.
The Alameda gardens and Wildlife rescue park are a pleasant way to pass some time, although I can't help feeling that the title of wildlife rescue park is a little grandiose, but you decide - here are some examples of the rescued wildlife.
The Alameda gardens and Wildlife rescue park are a pleasant way to pass some time, although I can't help feeling that the title of wildlife rescue park is a little grandiose, but you decide - here are some examples of the rescued wildlife.
I also saw a very large rat and a tabby cat.
The Alameda gardens does have some very pretty areas and gave me a good view of my hotel. The Rock hotel was excellent, but why is it that all hotels only have hairdryers that operate at half the power of a normal hairdryer, and also why do they have toasters that don't toast? Every morning I watched people queuing hopefully for a piece of toast, only to be sorely disappointed as the bread remained resolutely white.
The Alameda gardens does have some very pretty areas and gave me a good view of my hotel. The Rock hotel was excellent, but why is it that all hotels only have hairdryers that operate at half the power of a normal hairdryer, and also why do they have toasters that don't toast? Every morning I watched people queuing hopefully for a piece of toast, only to be sorely disappointed as the bread remained resolutely white.
Obviously Gibraltar does have it's tacky side - no-one could expect to buy anything of good quality from this shop:
However, it packs in lots of places to visit and plenty of places to eat, drink and people watch. The views into Spain are lovely, and the views of the rock from Spain are stunning. So a trip to Gibraltar is thoroughly recommended.