Mediterranean Steps is a path and

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, tec ...

in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. One of the

footpaths of Gibraltar The footpaths of Gibraltar provide access to key areas of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, a refuge for hundreds of species of flora and fauna which in some cases are found nowhere else in Europe. The reserve occupies the upper part of the Rock of ...

, the path is located entirely within the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the country's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Res ...

and was built by the British military but is now used by civilians as a pedestrian route linking

Martin's Path Martin's may refer to: Places * Martin's Additions, Maryland, USA * Martin's Battery, Gibraltar * Martin's Beach, California, USA * Martin's Brandon Church, Virginia, USA * Martin's Brook, Nova Scotia, Canada * Martin's Cave, Gibraltar * Martin' ...

Lord Airey's Battery Lord Airey's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just north of O'Hara's Battery. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, Gen ...

near the summit of

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

. The path offers views over the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaism, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Windmill Hill,

Europa Point Europa Point (Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar (the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula being Punta de Tarifa 25 km southwest of Gibraltar). At the end of the Rock of Gibra ...

, the Great Sand Dune, Gibraltar's east side beaches, the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and the Spanish

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

History

The Mediterranean Steps were built as part of the military communications system built by the British to allow access to their various defence posts at the southern end of the Rock. At the highest point of the steps are the two 9.2 inch guns of Lord Airey's Battery and

O'Hara's Battery O'Hara's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the highest point of the Rock of Gibraltar, near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, in close proximity to Lord Airey's Batter ...

. Other gun emplacements and ancillary buildings dating back to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

are evident along the route. The steps were restored in 2007 by the Bonita Trust, the Government of Gibraltar and the

Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society (''GONHS''), founded in 1976, is a non-governmental, membership-based organisation committed to research into and conservation of nature in Gibraltar and the region of the Strait of Gibraltar ...

Route

The steps zig-zag up the Rock from the end of

to near the summit. Martin's Path starts on the south western slopes of the Rock gently above the derelict

Levant Battery Levant Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Windmill Hill, Gibraltar, Windmill Hill, at the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below observation ...

near

Jews' Gate Cemetery Jews' Gate Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located on Windmill Hill within a nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Also known as the Windmill Hill Cemetery, it is the site of the earliest known Jewish burials in Gibralta ...

and proceeds to its first bend as the path turns to the east side of the Rock where it joins Mediterranean Steps. Martin's Path actually continues onwards to

Martin's Cave Martin's Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It opens on the eastern cliffs of the Rock of Gibraltar, below its summit at O'Hara's Battery. It is an ancient sea cave, though it is now located over above the shore of ...

but the way is prohibited and a locked gate protects the cave. The route is entirely within the

and the Goat's Hair Twin Caves can be seen on the way. These caves show evidence of when they were

sea cave A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as reli ...

s and the level of the sea was dramatically higher. These are amongst a number of caves in Gibraltar which have given evidence of prehistoric human habitation. The path leads up to a derelict pre-war tunnel and pumping station, once an operational old fresh water pumping station which collected rain water via the geologically modified slopes above. These slopes extend towards the top of the Rock (O'Hara's battery). The trail continues on a short path to a viewing platform and continues up the Rock to the twin batteries on the Rock's upper ridge. The path emerges at what was the location of O'Hara's Tower ( O'Hara's Folly) which was a

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is t ...

built in an attempt to observe shipping in the port of

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. It proved to be useless and lightning eventually created a ruin that was later destroyed in target practice.

References

:This article contains text fro
Discover-Gibraltar.com

External links

* {{Streets in Gibraltar Paths of Gibraltar