Rock Star
Between lockdowns last year, this tiny British territory in the Mediterranean became a rare travel success story, thanks to its lack of quarantine on either side and no testing required. Laura Millar paid a visit...
I’m scrambling up the side of a steep slope, simian-like, using arms and legs to traverse the grassy, earthy turf. I’m doing my best to keep quiet, too, for fear of alarming the animals whose habitat this has been for at least the past three centuries. Silently, I’m signalled to stop, sit, and wait; slowly, the first of a little troop of furry creatures wanders my way, pauses to inspect me with what seems like utter disdain, then lopes off. It’s one of around 300 Barbary macaques who have made the upper part of the Rock - a massive limestone monolith which thrusts nearly 1,400ft into the sky - their home.
I’m taking a tour with primatologist Brian Gomila (facebook.com/MonkeyTalkGibraltar/), who aims to familiarise visitors with these iconic monkeys who originate from nearby North Africa - there’s a saying that if they ever leave Gibraltar, so will the British - and their behaviour. It’s a matriarchal society: while the males are stronger, the females - hurrah - can boss them about. I also learn that they groom each other as a way of making up after an argument, and discover waaaay too much about their brief, but vigorous, mating habits. A bit like Gremlins, tourists must never feed them - not just after midnight, but at all, as they’ll lose the ability to fend for themselves, and become a major nuisance around humans. Like the couple I spot who, with the ill-advised lure of a banana, have now got macaques swarming all over their nice, shiny car.
Gib, as the locals call it, is a tiny - only 2.6 miles square - but militarily significant triangle of land at the southern tip of Spain. It’s been squabbled over by various nations over the years, with the British finally winning it in 1713 (it’s classified as a British Overseas Territory). To stave off the Spanish trying to reclaim it, the Brits used the peninsula’s natural resources - namely, a lot of high ground thanks to the huge lump of stone in the middle - to make it impenetrable. My next stop is the Great Siege Tunnels (entry included in Nature Reserve fee, £13, gibraltarinfo.gi/nature-reserve/). Blasted into the Rock by the British army who lived and fought from within them between 1779 and 1783, there are more miles of tunnels here (34) than there are of roads (30). They also constructed gun batteries, barracks, and defensive walls which still cover Gibraltar. Nearby is the impressive St Michael’s Cave: a vast, cathedral-like space covered with incredible, beautifully-illuminated stalactites and stalagmites, which have been forming for thousands of years. Today it serves as a great acoustic venue for gigs and events; our own Jimmy Carr has performed here, as well DJs like David Morales.
Now, the only way is down, and there are several hiking trails which lead back to the main town. I take the Thrill Seeker, which more than lives up to its name. A steep, twisting route carved into the side of the Rock, it’s not just the altitude and the angles that take my breath away, but the unparalleled views out to sea; on a clear day, you can see across to Morocco. Arriving onto Main Street, Gib’s busiest thoroughfare, it’s almost disconcerting to pass bright red post-boxes and phone booths, branches of M&S, Debenhams and Holland & Barratt, and even a gin distillery (spiritoftherock.gi). Residents mainly speak English, but also Spanish; 15,000 people cross the border every day to work here. On a walk with my guide, Gail, it’s no wonder that with a population of just 33,000, she stops every few minutes to greet an acquaintance; ‘everyone knows each other’s business here,’ she laughs. ‘If you want to misbehave, you go to Spain!’.
The amount of people on the streets attests to Gib’s renewed popularity as not just for day-trippers - so much so that in addition to BA’s regular flights, Wizzair recently launched a new route here. There’s an enjoyable continental scene in Casemates Square, with families and couples lounging in cafes, while later that evening, I find out where Gib’s youth hang out: drinking fishbowl-sized cocktails and devouring incredible seafood at one of the many restaurants and bars set under the bastions at buzzy Chatham Counterguard (I have delicious grilled octopus at mywinesgibraltar.com). And when my trip is over, I head to the airport with the best souvenir in my bag: a little toy macaque, to remind me of Gibraltar’s fabulous monkey business.
Rock on: 5 more Gib highlights
-It doesn’t get more refined than afternoon tea at the Rock Hotel, an elegant, Art Deco-style edifice dating from 1932 with evocative Agatha Christie vibes. Past guests include Winston Churchill, Sean Connery, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who exchanged wedding vows here. Gaze out to sea from the chequered-tiled terrace while scoffing scones with cream and jam, sandwiches, and home-baked cakes. From £17pp (£21 with glass of champagne), rockhotelgibraltar.com.
-Enjoy the scenery by e-biking around the peninsula or up to the top of the Rock. Stuart Hedley owns Gib’s only e-bike hire company, and is keen to encourage not just visitors but locals to get on their bikes as, despite its small population, cars outnumber inhabitants by over 10,000. Tours can be taken solo or in groups of up to 10; from £49pp, ebike-gibraltar.com.
-If you’ve pedalled or walked to the top of the Rock, reward yourself with brunch at the Mons Calpe Suite restaurant. Perched just above the cable car station (yes, that’s an option too), you can enjoy eggs Benedict or avo on toast with a spectacular view of the Rock’s crags and cliffs, and beyond. From £7, monscalpesuite.com.
-Dolphins frolic plentifully in the waters of the Gibraltar strait all year round (you can see whales here too, but they’re seasonal). Take a dolphin safari to watch them swimming, hunting for food, or playfully jumping out of the water. Types you’ll spot here include bottlenose, common and striped. Tours from £20pp, dolphin.gi.
-Get an eyeful of the Rock from sea level, with a SUP session or lesson in the calm waters at aptly-named Sandy Bay. Genial Brit Tom Cawthorn leads groups or solos who can partake in SUP-ing at sunrise, explore the ancient, Neanderthal Gorham Caves, or simply learn how to stay upright. From £15pp, in2adventures.com
Rooms at The Elliott Hotel from £140pn, eliotthotel.com; return flights from London from £80, ba.com. For more info, go to visitgibraltar.gi
An edited version of this article appeared in the Metro Newspaper on 01/02/2021
