O'Hara's battery and other tourist attractions
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
I visited Gibraltar a couple of years ago. I tried to visit most
places but the castle and museum were closed for refurbishment. Are
they now fully open because I am hoping to visit again in May?
Last time O'Hara's battery was open on a request basis; you had to
phone someone who would arrange a time to go and let you around. I
never got round to that. Is this still possible? I bet the views are
amazing. What do they let you see in the battery? Are you allowed
inside anywhere?
I didn't get to see the East side, I think the road was closed due to
rocks falling. Is this still the case? Is it possible to walk around
the rock? I presume if you walk past the Calletta and keep going you
eventually come to Europa point?
Thanks.
Ken
<invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:mifj14dsvd72gul8b...@4ax.com...
O Hara's Battery has never ceased to be a matter of amazement - in that it
should remain closed for so long. No idea if it's open now either. There is
a road as you say past Catalan Bay, through Sandy Bay, which will take you
to the lighthouse at Europa Point. However this still remains closed due to
works securing the cliff face. There was a tragic incident some time ago
since when it's been closed, when falling rocks (through sheer bad luck)
crushed a car with some of its occupants as they drove, at the entrance to
the tunnel by Sandy Bay. It's a major task securing so much rock above, and
providing rock fall-proof shelter below.
However it as NEVER been possible to walk from Sandy Bay to the Lighthouse
as the road, when open, was only ever a vehicular road. Pedestrians were
never permitted, for safety reasons. Not only was there the very real risk
of getting knocked over in the relatively poor light inside (esp when just
on entering, motorists would be unaccustomed to the relatively dark
interior) but it's a relatively long tunnel and you;d be walking within a
high concentration of exhaust fumes for a while. There were occasions when
walkers were permitted, typically when sponsored "round the rock" walks
occurred. There were organised anually by the Bayside Comprehensive Lower
Sixth form (in the days when that summer was NOT spoilt by O or AS levels!)
and occurred in June / July.
Ken
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
wrote:
>O Hara's Battery has never ceased to be a matter of amazement - in that it
>should remain closed for so long. No idea if it's open now either.
That's a great shame.
>There is
>a road as you say past Catalan Bay, through Sandy Bay, which will take you
>to the lighthouse at Europa Point. However this still remains closed due to
>works securing the cliff face. There was a tragic incident some time ago
>since when it's been closed, when falling rocks (through sheer bad luck)
>crushed a car with some of its occupants as they drove, at the entrance to
>the tunnel by Sandy Bay. It's a major task securing so much rock above, and
>providing rock fall-proof shelter below.
>
>However it as NEVER been possible to walk from Sandy Bay to the Lighthouse
>as the road, when open, was only ever a vehicular road. Pedestrians were
>never permitted, for safety reasons. Not only was there the very real risk
>of getting knocked over in the relatively poor light inside (esp when just
>on entering, motorists would be unaccustomed to the relatively dark
>interior) but it's a relatively long tunnel and you;d be walking within a
>high concentration of exhaust fumes for a while. There were occasions when
>walkers were permitted, typically when sponsored "round the rock" walks
>occurred. There were organised anually by the Bayside Comprehensive Lower
>Sixth form (in the days when that summer was NOT spoilt by O or AS levels!)
>and occurred in June / July.
Yes, we were told that story (by some army chap when we visited the
tunnels IIRC) when we last visited. However I had not realised the
road was for vehicles only. It's a shame as I would have quite liked
to walk around the rock: only mad dogs and Englishmen and all that ;)
I think we did walk through a tunnel to Europa point from the other
side of the rock last time. Can you still do that? What public
transport takes you that way?
I forgot to say that last time we foolishly (imho) signed-up to the
lower St Michael's cave tour which tourist information said involved
"some" rope work. We were all too terrified to ask to stop and turn
back! If no-one has been (don't!) you have to climb up and down near
vertical rock faces and then walk along a ledge a few inches wide
around an underground lake; how no-one fell in amazes me!
There seem to be some good deals if you arrive in the week, rather
than the weekend. Both the Rock and Eliot are at low prices. The Eliot
is central which is nice, but does it suffer from noise being in the
centre? I suppose that for some destinations the Eliot is good but
many other attractions are past the Rock so I suppose the rock is just
as good if you want to head south to the 100 tonne gun, Europa point,
nature reserve, etc.
BTW is there a Gibtele PAY sim that tourists can pick-up for cheap
calls home? The problem with roaming on my UK sim is that incoming
calls are charged.
Thanks.
Jim Watt
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com wrote:
The Moorish castle is open.
But as Ken says the tunnel around the rock is closed
The other one you may have walked through from
Europa to camp bay is open.
You can get a Gibtel PAYG sim card here
which will do what you want.
--
Jim Watt
http://www.gibnet.com
Ken
<invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:p96k141273rpg05ik...@4ax.com...
This wouldbe the tunnel from the Lighthouse area to Little Bay and Camp Bay,
the one where, as you emerge while walking downhill, within the mouth of the
tunnel you see a perfectly framed waterfall on the cliff face ahead. This is
Keightley Way tunnel (the one between Sandy Bay and Lighthouse is Dudley
Way). Public transport is not a problem. Route 3 will take you to the
Lighthouse, and having walked though the tunnel to the small beaches (the
larger one has a pool with concrete dolphins in it) and then through at
least one, at most two (depending on your chosen route) very much smaller
tunnels, around 15 - 20yds long each you come to Rosia Bay - where Nelson's
body came ashore in 1805 after the Battle of Trafalgar. Just beyond that,
and jsut starting up the hill which would take you towards the Casino
(eventually) you can catch a bus on Route 4.
>
> I forgot to say that last time we foolishly (imho) signed-up to the
> lower St Michael's cave tour which tourist information said involved
> "some" rope work. We were all too terrified to ask to stop and turn
> back! If no-one has been (don't!) you have to climb up and down near
> vertical rock faces and then walk along a ledge a few inches wide
> around an underground lake; how no-one fell in amazes me!
It is a truly amazing place that! I've been, and found it all fascinating.
The worst bit comes at the end. Having been exerting yourself significantly
for over an hour, you finish with a vertical climb up a slippery wet rock
face!
>
> There seem to be some good deals if you arrive in the week, rather
> than the weekend. Both the Rock and Eliot are at low prices. The Eliot
> is central which is nice, but does it suffer from noise being in the
> centre? I suppose that for some destinations the Eliot is good but
> many other attractions are past the Rock so I suppose the rock is just
> as good if you want to head south to the 100 tonne gun, Europa point,
> nature reserve, etc.
In reality, nothing is v far from anywhere else in Gib. I do not stay in
hotels when I go. personally I would prefer one of the hotels in the centre,
such as Elliot. Have you tried the Cannon hotel, in Cannon Lane just a
couple of hundred yds from the Elliot? How about the Bristol Hotel? If
however you;re hiring a car, the favourite must be Queens Hotel, as it's
just across the road from the cable car station with the large car park
which is at its base.
>
> BTW is there a Gibtele PAY sim that tourists can pick-up for cheap
> calls home? The problem with roaming on my UK sim is that incoming
> calls are charged.
You can always purchase a PAYG SIM on Main St. Look at
http://www.gibtele.com/residential/wireless/reload/ and on that page, click
on RETAILERS to download a pdf for outlet info. BUT before you rush headlong
into this, check with your UK mobile provider for an up-to-date pricing
list. Thanks to EU regulations, roaming charges have dropped so much that in
may cases it's just not worth the bother of buying a SIM at your
destination. If nothing else, how do your frinds contact you now that you
have a totally new 'phone number?
Ken
zii kell
Just climb round the gate or start to walk onto the Med Steps paths next
to the gate and then climb up and over the embankment.
The ladder up the side of the housing that contains the gun has rusted
at the top, but if one is light, like me, then you can climb up.
The real problem is avoiding all the f'kin gulls that swarm over the
top. If you don't take a brolly then you might come back looking like a
white-washed villa.
So, although closed, no one is going to stop you from looking around.
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
wrote:
>This wouldbe the tunnel from the Lighthouse area to Little Bay and Camp Bay,
>the one where, as you emerge while walking downhill, within the mouth of the
>tunnel you see a perfectly framed waterfall on the cliff face ahead. This is
>Keightley Way tunnel (the one between Sandy Bay and Lighthouse is Dudley
>Way). Public transport is not a problem. Route 3 will take you to the
>Lighthouse, and having walked though the tunnel to the small beaches (the
>larger one has a pool with concrete dolphins in it) and then through at
>least one, at most two (depending on your chosen route) very much smaller
>tunnels, around 15 - 20yds long each you come to Rosia Bay - where Nelson's
>body came ashore in 1805 after the Battle of Trafalgar
Yes, that's exactly the route we walked back from Eurpoa point last
time. We were not expecting to walk all the way there and all the way
back but we never saw a bus so just kept going!
Ken
"zii kell" <huj22ml...@temporaryinbox.com> wrote in message
news:fvfl3h$731$1...@registered.motzarella.org...
So, where are the pics of the marvellous views?
K
Ken
<invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:lrom14lan6qm3laou...@4ax.com...
Don't know how long it is since you were last in Gib. The buses WERE nothing
to shout about, but have been seriously revamped in recent years. See
http://website.lineone.net/~wendyedwards/2004busroutes.html for routes and
info on them, and http://www.gibnet.com/images/bus.htm for some pics and
general info.
Also be prepared for the amount of new building work going on. You'd think
with a place as smallas Gib, with the amount of stuff that's gone up over
recent times thre'd be scant need for any more. But no. It's all new stuff
going up and higher up every day. What a contrast between Gib and the
surrounding areas!
The joke is told of a Spaniard who has heard of but has never visited Gib.
When he returns home his friends ask him what Gib is like. H replies that it
will be very nice, once they finish building it.
K
Jim Watt
wrote:
Good question, I know he has a good camera.
awl9w0h...@mail.htl22.at
I reinstalled my laptop on the weekend and for the moment newsgroup
access from home is down (along with email; Thunderbird profiles and
some incompatibilty between new and old rubbish) so have to post only
the Google groups web browser, which is rather annoying.
When the pc is feeling better I shall post, which I hope is soon.
z
zii kell
Just got PC back and almost running and know that I had deleted the
photograph and I cannot remember why :( Sorry folks.
I have on picture of a friend trying to stick his head inside the barrel
of the gun on the battery. This is all and its not that interesting.
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
<huj22ml...@temporaryinbox.com> wrote:
>So, although closed, no one is going to stop you from looking around.
That's reassuring, I'll go take a look.
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
wrote:
>Don't know how long it is since you were last in Gib. The buses WERE nothing
>to shout about, but have been seriously revamped in recent years. See
>http://website.lineone.net/~wendyedwards/2004busroutes.html for routes and
>info on them, and http://www.gibnet.com/images/bus.htm for some pics and
>general info.
>
>Also be prepared for the amount of new building work going on. You'd think
>with a place as smallas Gib, with the amount of stuff that's gone up over
>recent times thre'd be scant need for any more. But no. It's all new stuff
>going up and higher up every day. What a contrast between Gib and the
>surrounding areas!
I just checked: I last visited four years ago. I hadn't realised it
was so long ago. I wait to see what has changed. I didn't know there
was room to build anything else!
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
wrote:
[about lower St Michael's cave]
>It is a truly amazing place that! I've been, and found it all fascinating.
>The worst bit comes at the end. Having been exerting yourself significantly
>for over an hour, you finish with a vertical climb up a slippery wet rock
>face!
I think the worst bit comes halfway. You reach a lake and think thank
God it's over we are going to head back and then they make you walk
over the lake. How no-one fell in amazed me.
I was too busy being scared to enjoy it! I just wish it was advertised
more correctly.
>In reality, nothing is v far from anywhere else in Gib. I do not stay in
>hotels when I go. personally I would prefer one of the hotels in the centre,
>such as Elliot. Have you tried the Cannon hotel, in Cannon Lane just a
>couple of hundred yds from the Elliot? How about the Bristol Hotel? If
>however you;re hiring a car, the favourite must be Queens Hotel, as it's
>just across the road from the cable car station with the large car park
>which is at its base.
In the UK most brochures only advertise the Caletta, Elliot, Rock, and
Bristol hotels, so no-one gets to know of any others. I had heard of
Queens; I think I must have walked past it last time I visited but I
don't think I had heard of the Cannon. What are they like? It's a bit
of a gamble booking something you don't know.
I think I picked up a leaflet about one (Queens?) last time and it
said only some rooms had air con. which put me off. I went to the Rock
because there was an offer and I had one free night, which made the
cost not too bad.
>Thanks to EU regulations, roaming charges have dropped so much that in
>may cases it's just not worth the bother of buying a SIM at your
>destination. If nothing else, how do your frinds contact you now that you
>have a totally new 'phone number?
I don't really want them to contact me: I'm on holiday ;)
Ken
<invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:12e824t80l310n82k...@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 1 May 2008 21:41:33 +0100, "Ken" <k...@k1at.freeserve.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> [about lower St Michael's cave]
>
> Bristol hotels, so no-one gets to know of any others. I had heard of
> Queens; I think I must have walked past it last time I visited but I
> don't think I had heard of the Cannon. What are they like? It's a bit
> of a gamble booking something you don't know.
Queen's: Go to the lower cable car station, in the middle of the car park.
Head towards town with the yellow blocks of flats on your left. Straight
ahead of you, at the western corner of the building in front of you -
Queen's Hotel.
Cannon: Stand outside the Roman Catholic Cathedral, with the benches and
palm trees opposite. Head towards the Piazza. The first turn on your right,
opposite the pub and the jeweller's shop, is Cannon Lane. 20yds up thee, on
your left, Cannon Hotel.
Continental: At the bottom end of Engineer Lane, where it (and Parliament
Lane) meed Main St, about 100yds south of Casemate's Square (which is in
fact a triangle, but there you are)
> I don't really want them to contact me: I'm on holiday ;)
Fair enough!
Ken
Ken
<invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:r3e8245fncl4s8p4o...@4ax.com...
Well, there's always reclamation from the sea! No, what's been going on in
many places is the knocking down of some old stuff in order toreplace it
with new stuff. Go along to the Marina / Watergardens area for an example of
wholesale change. A birds'-eye view from the upper Rock will confirm the
many changes that have gone, and continue to go on.
I heard from my father who had been speaking to a senior police officer
(some time last year) that there were at that time 40 building sites
throughout Gib that were using tower cranes, let alone the more modest
constructions that did not require these. At that time BTW the Marina had 7
tower cranes in its site. OK, in absolute terms not a huge amount of
building, but relative to size . . .
Ken
invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com
<huj22ml...@temporaryinbox.com> wrote:
Hi,
I have just returned from a few days in Gib., which I really enjoyed.
Look out for lots of questions about my visit in the coming days!
I walked up to the upper rock, or at least as high as the caves, apes'
den, and tunnels on day one but on day two I cheated and caught the
cable car to the top. I walked from the station towards O'Hara's
battery and saw the Douglas path. Since I had never been there before,
I thought the path lead to O'Hara's battery.
I have since learned that the path goes to a Moorish lookout and then
onto a WW2 lookout. I don't remember the Moorish lookout; I was too
busy looking where I was walking: there was no hand rail and I don't
like heights!
I had a walk around the WW2 lookout but wasn't brave enough to climb
the steps on top (the height phobia again). Is that as far as the path
goes? At that point I turned around and went back.
There seemed to be a lot of litter there (empty bottles); is it
visited a lot? I didn't see anyone else when I was there.
Are there any plans to work on the path and fit new hand rails?
Once on the road, I walked further down and found the road to O'Hara's
battery. It's signposted and the sign still says open on request, but
it doesn't say whom to make your request to! Does anyone know?
I got to the top of the road and there were two gates: one to my left
and one to my right. They were both padlocked and had a sign saying
property of someone or other (MOD?).
I saw another sign, this time for the Mediterranean steps and climbed
up onto the path. It looks as though someone has started to put a hand
rail (rope) there but hasn't got very far! But I'm afraid that's as
far as I got. There were some steps up to the gun but these had a
small fence across them preventing access. Behind that was a tall
fence around the gun, complete with another locked gate.
How did you manage to get through the gate and onto the gun? Did you
climb over the fence? From what I remember it was pretty tall. I was
quite frustrated to have walked that far and stopped just a few feet
away from it.
From where I was standing it looked in quite poor condition - rusty.
However, I couldn't get a very good look, so perhaps it was just that
one patch of rust that you described that I saw? I guess the photos on
the postcards were taken decades ago when it was freshly painted?
I heard a story about a gun that had never been fired and there were
worries that if it was fired it would fall off the rock. Is the gun in
this story O'Hara's battery or is that another one?
Thanks.
Stephen.
Ken
<invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:6141341ae9elreb29...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 02 May 2008 20:06:18 +0200, zii kell
> <huj22ml...@temporaryinbox.com> wrote:
>
>>Its not open but I went there last weekend and the gun is looking good.
>>
>>Just climb round the gate or start to walk onto the Med Steps paths next
>>to the gate and then climb up and over the embankment.
>>
>>The ladder up the side of the housing that contains the gun has rusted
>>at the top, but if one is light, like me, then you can climb up.
>>
>>The real problem is avoiding all the f'kin gulls that swarm over the
>>top. If you don't take a brolly then you might come back looking like a
>>white-washed villa.
>>
>>So, although closed, no one is going to stop you from looking around.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I have just returned from a few days in Gib., which I really enjoyed.
> Look out for lots of questions about my visit in the coming days!
>
> I walked up to the upper rock, or at least as high as the caves, apes'
> den, and tunnels on day one but on day two I cheated and caught the
> cable car to the top. I walked from the station towards O'Hara's
> battery and saw the Douglas path. Since I had never been there before,
> I thought the path lead to O'Hara's battery.
>
> I have since learned that the path goes to a Moorish lookout and then
> onto a WW2 lookout. I don't remember the Moorish lookout; I was too
> busy looking where I was walking: there was no hand rail and I don't
> like heights!
The Moorish lookout is a small hut barely big enough to stand up in, nor
wide enought o take a decent set of shoulders. People jsut have been a lot
smaller then. It's made of stone with a conical red brick roof, barely 3ft
diameter on the outside.
>
> I had a walk around the WW2 lookout but wasn't brave enough to climb
> the steps on top (the height phobia again). Is that as far as the path
> goes? At that point I turned around and went back.
Not sure. It may have gone further. Personally never gone any further,
severly overgrown.
>
> There seemed to be a lot of litter there (empty bottles); is it
> visited a lot? I didn't see anyone else when I was there.
I've never known it any other way. Much of the litter up there is very very
old. I suspect it was the favourite haunt of a few, who grew up and stopped
going. Meanwhile their litter remains.
>
> Are there any plans to work on the path and fit new hand rails?
Not as far as I'm aware. It is a pretty unfamous (if that's a word) spot.
>
> Once on the road, I walked further down and found the road to O'Hara's
> battery. It's signposted and the sign still says open on request, but
> it doesn't say whom to make your request to! Does anyone know?
Not the foggiest.
>
> I got to the top of the road and there were two gates: one to my left
> and one to my right. They were both padlocked and had a sign saying
> property of someone or other (MOD?).
>
> I saw another sign, this time for the Mediterranean steps and climbed
> up onto the path. It looks as though someone has started to put a hand
> rail (rope) there but hasn't got very far! But I'm afraid that's as
> far as I got. There were some steps up to the gun but these had a
> small fence across them preventing access. Behind that was a tall
> fence around the gun, complete with another locked gate.
>
> How did you manage to get through the gate and onto the gun? Did you
> climb over the fence? From what I remember it was pretty tall. I was
> quite frustrated to have walked that far and stopped just a few feet
> away from it.
>
> From where I was standing it looked in quite poor condition - rusty.
> However, I couldn't get a very good look, so perhaps it was just that
> one patch of rust that you described that I saw? I guess the photos on
> the postcards were taken decades ago when it was freshly painted?
>
> I heard a story about a gun that had never been fired and there were
> worries that if it was fired it would fall off the rock. Is the gun in
> this story O'Hara's battery or is that another one?
This gun struck fear into the Nazis during WW2, and frankly they ought to
have nkown better. True, the range of the gun was / is such that it is
capable from that height of landing a shell in N Africa - making it of
course the first intercontinental weapon. What no-one remembered to tell
Adolf (and they ought to have worked it out) was that it was sooooo wildly
inaccurate it could not be relied upon to hit anything in particualr when it
got there. Much axis traffic would wait until dark, or as subs did, navigate
the Strait submerged, for fear of this gun. In this much it was the most
effective weapon ever until the cold war, as it modified a great deal of
behaviour but never actually needed to fire in order to achieve its effects.
I doubt any German / Italian ship which kept near the African coast would
have been at the remotest risk from this gun.
Ken
Stephen
wrote:
>This gun struck fear into the Nazis during WW2, and frankly they ought to
>have nkown better. True, the range of the gun was / is such that it is
>capable from that height of landing a shell in N Africa - making it of
>course the first intercontinental weapon. What no-one remembered to tell
>Adolf (and they ought to have worked it out) was that it was sooooo wildly
>inaccurate it could not be relied upon to hit anything in particualr when it
>got there. Much axis traffic would wait until dark, or as subs did, navigate
>the Strait submerged, for fear of this gun. In this much it was the most
>effective weapon ever until the cold war, as it modified a great deal of
>behaviour but never actually needed to fire in order to achieve its effects.
>I doubt any German / Italian ship which kept near the African coast would
>have been at the remotest risk from this gun.
Thank you. I never knew any of this and I find it all very
interesting. It's a shame there isn't one of those red signs there
telling the visitor all of this. I realised the strategic importance
of Gib. at the entrance/exit of the Med. in earlier centuries but I
hadn't realised until now that it would have been important for the
same reasons in WW2. Why was the gun so inaccurate though? Was there a
design flaw?
Ken
"Stephen" <invalid...@reply.to.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:0ac23413oca8i5h8j...@4ax.com...
Not as I'm aware. But consider chucking a projectile lump of lead high and
fast (if it is to make a 20+ mile trip!). Thanks to rifling, it is spinning
which makes it go straighter OVER A CERTAIN DISTANCE. Remember that in order
to curl one's shot at football, you make the ball spin. Well, the shell's
spinning and interacting with winds which will vary in strength and
direction at the various altitudes. You're also trying to hit a ship which
is moving east-west and is rollng left-right and going up-down in the swell,
and can change course as well AFTER you've fired! The time between firing
and landing over a 20 mile range is considerable. These days missiles have
their course altered after having been fired.
Ken