FLIGHTS
Thursday 11th October 2012
Gatwick to Gibraltar 10:15 dep - 14:10 arr
Sunday 14th October 2012
Gibraltar to Gatwick 19:55 dep - 21:50 arr
Clifton Antiquarian Club
Gibraltar
4* - 3 nights B&B in twin rooms
Excellent location right in the
heart of Gibraltar’s Old Town.
Superb 8th floor bar & restaurant
with fantastic views of the Strait
of Gibraltar, North Africa and
Spain.
Roof top terrace and
swimming pool. A perfect base
for exploration and simply one of
the best hotels in Gibraltar.
COST
Our goal is always to provide an
outstanding blend of intriguing
sights and offer superb value
for money. That’s why we are
delighted to offer this trip for
just £390 per person (club
members rate).
This includes: return flights, 4*
Hotel B&B, dedicated trip
booklet, all site entry fees,
private tours, cable car & local
transport, lecture & boat trip.
Not included: Meals (except
breakfast), UK transportation,
personal travel insurance.
RESERVATIONS
To book your place please contact
[email protected]
or call Laurie Waite 07831 131171
The cradle of history!
Lying at the very tip of southern Spain, this two and half
square mile limestone outcrop dominates the entrance to
the Mediterranean and throughout history has been of
crucial strategic importance. Today, Gibraltar is a melting
pot of differing nationalities, cultures and architecture.
This October, you are warmly invited to join us on a very
special club trip that will explore the amazing wealth of sites
in, on and under this unique place.
The Itinerary
Thursday 11th - Sunday 14th October 2012
Day 1
Arriving at Gibraltar early on Thursday afternoon, we’ll check in to the 4 star Eliott
hotel right in the centre of town and then enjoy an easy amble soaking up the local
ambience; there is plenty of Moroccan, Spanish and colonial architecture to
appreciate, as well as the city defences and bastions. For dinner we shall savour the
delights of Moroccan food at the nearby Marrakech restaurant and afterwards we can
relax and enjoy some live music because Thursday night is the popular Jazz Night in
the hotel’s Veranda Bar.
Day 3
Saturday morning is the chance to shed calories, don your walking
shoes and enjoy a brisk exploration of the Upper Rock.
The
Mediterranean Steps is a fascinating walk up to the top, offering
stunning views. It is long and steep but there is an option for those who
may prefer to take a taxi or cable car. Flora and fauna abound in the
Upper Rock Nature Reserve and if lucky we could see Gibraltar
Candytuft, Chickweed and Saxifrage. It is the autumn migration period
for birds, so an opportune time for any birders amongst the group!
After a stroll around the Upper
Rock to see O’Hara’s Battery,
look out posts and WW2 gun
emplacements, we’ll visit St
Michael’s Cave which includes
the spectacular Cathedral Cave
Chamber, so large it’s used for
concerts. Then we make our
way back down 1,200ft via cable
car to the Grand Parade in town.
Gibraltar enjoys a Mediterranean temperate climate with October being around 20 to
23℃ and it’s still warm enough for sea swimming!
Day 2
First stop in the morning will be to Gibraltar museum,
just around the corner from the hotel. Military and
archaeological artefacts from Gibraltar’s history and
prehistory are displayed, there is an excellent natural
history unit and of course the Neanderthal skull. The
Museum’s Gibraltar Caves Project has been running
for 10 years examining Neanderthal occupation of the
caves during the Middle Palaeolithic.
From there it is a fifteen minute stroll
through the town to the Great Siege
Tunnels.
They were dug in 1782 to
transport guns to the northern face of the
Rock in a successful defence against a
Spanish & French invasion that lasted nearly
four years. We have also arranged for an
exclusive ‘closed to public’ tour of some of
the vast WW2 tunnel sections in what should
prove to be one of the highlights of the trip.
Later in the afternoon we will head out of town to the
eastern side of the Rock and Catalan Bay. In addition
to the beautiful sands of Gibraltar’s second largest
beach, there will be an opportunity to have a look at
ancient sand deposits from the Last Interglacial.
Maybe a swim as well!
We’ll stay in Catalan Bay for dinner where there is the
acclaimed La Mamela restaurant renowned for its
excellent sea food and fabulous location.
In the afternoon we plan to take a leisurely boat
trip around to Gorham’s Cave where the
Neanderthal deposits were discovered. The
boat trip affords unique views of Gibraltar from
the sea and there’s a chance to see dolphins.
A lecture is arranged for early evening to keep
us up to date with current archaeological
research in Gibraltar and we’ll follow this with a
meal at a Spanish restaurant.
Day 4
After breakfast we will walk up to the Moorish Castle, a
part of which is allegedly the first Moorish construction on
mainland Europe completed in AD 742 and is a relic of
their occupation, lasting 710 years. The castle comprises
many diverse buildings and multiple gates; the Tower of
Homage is a particularly inspiring site standing proudly
over the city of Gibraltar. Here and there you can see the
pot marked scars on exterior walls, evidence of successive
attacks.
In the time remaining we’ll go to the Botanical Gardens,
Trafalgar Cemetery, the 100 ton super gun, anchorage of
HMS Victory and Parson’s Lodge Battery to round off what
promises to be a most fascinating and memorable trip.