I returned to Gibraltar in 2000, renewing an acquaintance with the Rock that had begun many years earlier. Although Gibraltar had inevitably changed since my visits during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, its distinctive mixture of British, Mediterranean and military influences remained immediately familiar.
Dominating everything was the Rock itself, rising dramatically above the town, harbour and airport. Its strategic position at the entrance to the Mediterranean has shaped Gibraltar’s history for centuries, and reminders of its military importance were never far away. Fortifications, batteries and tunnels could be found throughout the Upper Rock, often commanding magnificentless views across the Strait towards North Africa and along the neighbouring coast of Spain.
One of the most fascinating places was the Great Siege Tunnels. These passages were originally excavated by British soldiers during the Great Siege of 1779–83, when Gibraltar was besieged by Spanish and French forces. Working with hand tools and gunpowder, the soldiers cut galleries through the limestone so that cannon could fire from embrasures overlooking the northern approaches. The system was enlarged during the nineteenth century, and the surviving Victorian guns help convey something of the cramped and difficult conditions in which the garrison once served.
Away from its fortifications, Gibraltar retained its own unmistakable character. The busy streets and shops of the town contrasted with the rugged scenery of the Upper Rock, while the harbour and Strait reflected Gibraltar’s continuing importance as a meeting point between Europe and Africa, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
This visit provided another opportunity to explore a place that was both reassuringly familiar and constantly changing. Gibraltar’s remarkable concentration of scenery, wildlife, military history and everyday life ensured that, however often I returned, there was always something else to discover.
A Victorian 64-pounder cannon stands beside one of the embrasures in the Great Siege Tunnels, cut deep into the limestone of the Rock of Gibraltar. The tunnels were begun during the Great Siege of 1779–83, although this gun was installed during a later period of nineteenth-century rearmament. Photographed in 2000.
A recreated eighteenth-century artillery scene inside St George’s Hall, the largest of the original Great Siege galleries. The display shows soldiers working among cannon, ammunition and supplies within the chamber excavated after the Great Siege of 1779–83. A battery of seven guns was subsequently installed here to defend Gibraltar’s northern approaches. Photographed in 2000.
A cargo ship lies at anchor in the waters off Gibraltar, photographed from the Rock in 2000. Its three deck-mounted cranes allowed cargo to be handled at ports without their own heavy lifting equipment, while the red lower hull shows the vessel was travelling comparatively lightly laden. Gibraltar’s position beside one of the world’s busiest shipping routes provided an ever-changing procession of vessels passing between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
A heavily weathered tanker and another merchant vessel lie in Gibraltar’s Eastern Anchorage in 2000. Extensive rust streaking along the tanker’s hull suggests that it was overdue for maintenance, but its identity and nationality cannot be determined from the photograph.
A geared bulk carrier lies lightly laden in Gibraltar’s Eastern Anchorage in 2000, with much of its red-painted lower hull visible above the water. Its three deck cranes enabled it to handle dry cargo at ports without suitable shore equipment. The passing merchant traffic illustrates Gibraltar’s enduring strategic importance as “the Key to the Mediterranean,” commanding the narrow gateway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
A large Panamax bulk carrier lies offshore at Gibraltar in 2000. Its seven holds would have carried bulk commodities such as grain, coal or iron ore, while the absence of deck cranes meant that it relied upon shore-based equipment for loading and unloading. Another example of the heavy merchant traffic passing Gibraltar—the strategically important “Key to the Mediterranean.”
Two contrasting cargo ships lie close together in Gibraltar’s Eastern Anchorage in 2000. The weathered vessel in the foreground carries two substantial deck cranes for handling its cargo, while the larger ship beyond retains an older arrangement of masts and derricks. Together they illustrate the varied merchant traffic found off Gibraltar—the historic “Key to the Mediterranean.”
Soldiers of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment march in step outside the Convent, the Governor of Gibraltar’s official residence, during the Changing of the Guard in 2000. Wearing khaki No. 2 Service Dress and the regiment’s distinctive red-and-dark-blue peaked caps, both carry rifles with fixed bayonets.
Two soldiers of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment march along Main Street during the Changing of the Guard at the Convent, Gibraltar’s official residence of the Governor. Carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, they pass the pavement tables of the appropriately British-looking Angry Friar pub, situated opposite the Convent. Photographed in 2000.
Two soldiers of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment march away from the Convent after being relieved during the Changing of the Guard in 2000. Wearing khaki No. 2 Service Dress and the regiment’s distinctive red-and-dark-blue peaked caps, they carry rifles with fixed bayonets as they pass the residence’s Gothic-style entrance portico.
The Union Flag and Gibraltar’s red-and-white flag fly before the Gothic-style brick façade of the Convent on Main Street. Originally built as a Franciscan friary during the sixteenth century, the building became the official residence of Gibraltar’s British governors in 1728 and was extensively remodelled in later centuries. Photographed in 2000.
A high-level view along Gibraltar’s steep eastern coastline towards the Caleta Hotel and Catalan Bay in 2000. Sir Herbert Miles Road winds beneath the limestone cliffs, squeezed between the Mediterranean Sea and the precipitous eastern face of the Rock. Overhead utility cables cross the view.
The Caleta Hotel clings dramatically to the rocky shoreline above Catalan Bay in 2000, with its name displayed prominently down the seaward tower. Opened as the Caleta Palace in 1964, the family-run hotel became a familiar landmark on Gibraltar’s Mediterranean coast. Sir Herbert Miles Road winds along the steep hillside immediately above the complex.
Rows of seasoned oak botas form the name HARVEYS beneath the graceful white arches of the company’s bodega at Jerez de la Frontera in 2000. The display celebrates the traditional casks used in the ageing and blending of Harvey’s famous Bristol Cream sherry.
Traditional cooper’s tools and rows of oak casks inside the Harveys sherry bodega at Jerez de la Frontera, visited during my Gibraltar holiday in 2000. Old metal stencils used for marking the barrels—including one apparently bearing the famous Bristol Cream name—are displayed on the workbench. Harveys had transferred the production and blending of Bristol Cream from Britain to Jerez in 1970.
A visitor passes towering rows of oak botas containing Harvey’s Bristol Cream inside the company’s traditional Jerez bodega in 2000. The high roof, thick walls and shaded interior helped maintain the cool, stable conditions required for ageing and blending sherry.
Rows of seasoned oak botas containing Harvey’s Bristol Cream rest in the cool, quiet interior of the firm’s Jerez bodega in 2000. The casks form part of the traditional ageing and blending process that gives the famous cream sherry its distinctive rich and mellow character.
A traditional hoist demonstrates how heavy oak casks were lifted and positioned in the rows of barrels at the Harveys bodega in Jerez de la Frontera. The casks behind are prominently marked Harveys Bristol Cream, the company’s famous blended sherry. Photographed during a visit from Gibraltar in 2000.
A large, predominantly black male Muscovy duck, with a contrasting white wing patch and red facial markings, rests beside the ornamental pond in the grounds of Harvey’s sherry bodega at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in 2000.
A magnificent peacock displays its iridescent blue neck and long, richly patterned train while strolling through the landscaped grounds of Harvey’s sherry bodega in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in 2000.
An ornate stone fountain set into a whitewashed garden wall amid lush greenery in the grounds of Harvey’s sherry bodega at Jerez de la Frontera in 2000. The broad lawn and shaded planting create a cool, peaceful retreat within the historic bodega complex.
Looking down from the Gibraltar Cable Car Top Station in 2000, extensive reclamation works can be seen beneath the sheer eastern face of the Rock. Newly deposited stone and protective breakwaters were creating additional land along Gibraltar’s Mediterranean coastline.
The prominent white radome and communications masts of the RAF radar station crown Rock Gun, high above Gibraltar, in 2000. Its commanding position provided an unobstructed view of the surrounding airspace and the strategically important approaches to the Strait.
Three merchant ships lie offshore near Gibraltar at night in 2000—one vessel to the left and two lying close together on the right. Their brilliant deck and working lights punctuate the darkness of the busy approaches to the Strait of Gibraltar.
A GB Airways Boeing 737-300, operating in British Airways colours, approaches Gibraltar Airport with its landing gear lowered in 2000. Seabirds cross the aircraft’s path as it descends towards the runway, with the Spanish coast faintly visible beyond.
The Cable Car Top Station catches the evening sunlight high above the precipitous eastern face of the Rock of Gibraltar in 2000. Seen from below, its dramatic position near the summit illustrates the sheer scale and ruggedness of Gibraltar’s limestone cliffs.
A geared bulk carrier lies offshore on the Mediterranean side of Gibraltar in 2000. Its three prominent deck cranes allowed it to handle cargo at ports lacking their own shoreside lifting equipment, while its high-sided hull and large holds were typical of vessels carrying dry bulk commodities.