Travel For years, banks and insurance companies touted that they were as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. But, surprise! The limestone rock is honeycombed with more than 140 caves and 53 kilometres of man-made and natural tunnels. St. Michael’s Cave is the largest. During the Second World War, the cave was outfitted as a hospital, but it was never used. Flashing multicoloured lights illuminate stalactites and stalagmites in a series of underground chambers stretching 214 metres into the rock. Inside the largest cavern, a dramatic natural cathedral grotto with superb acoustics, audiences enjoy concerts and cultural events in a 400-seat theatre. Equally impressive are The Great Siege Tunnels. A detachment of British military officers excavated this defence system during The Great Siege of 1779-83. Using During the Second World War, concerns about a German invasion led to an expansion of the tunnel system. The excavations were so extensive that the interior of the Rock was large enough to house an entire garrison of 16,000 soldiers, a power station, hospital, water distillation plant and supply depots. Churchill and Eisenhower planned the Allied invasion of North Africa from these World War II Tunnels. At O’Hara’s Battery, on the highest point of the Rock, we viewed a massive black cannon, a 2.8-metre gun and a 1947 film to set the scene. A sign explained that the gun had a 28-ton barrel and a 27,066-metre range. In addition to caves, tunnels and military relics, the Upper Rock Nature Reserve protects numerous flowers and plants. We followed a spider’s web of easy-to-difficult themed trails that weave through the greenery. Crying seagulls and cheeping migratory and resident birds surrounded us. (The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society lists 311 species.) A free downloadable app provided maps, as well as information about the flora, fauna and points of interest. sledgehammers, crowbars and gunpowder, they blasted and hewed out the rock to create vital gun emplacements. Today, mannequin soldiers dressed in authentic 18th-century uniforms man the guns, facing out towards Spain. What happened to the rock excavated from the tunnels riddling the Rock? It was used to build Gibraltar’s airport runway, which we viewed below some of the tunnel openings. Yes, the runway that we walked across. Military history comes to life More holes than Swiss cheese Flashing multicoloured lights illuminate St. Michael’s Cave Massive black cannon at O’Hara’s Battery Entrance to World War II Tunnels Upper Rock Nature Reserve preserves more than 500 species of flora Costumed mannequins and a cannon inside The Great Siege Tunnels CSANews | SUMMER 2017 | 17
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