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Cunard Queen Victoria 2022 Western Europe Cruise Part 4 - Gibraltar |
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Gibraltar - December 18 2022
This will be one of our shortest every write ups as we did little other than go to the Service of Lessons and Carols at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and rush back to the ship. It is quite a long walk from the moorings into the main street from which the Cathedral can be accessed. We looked in at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned as we passed but their service was imminent. We continued as far as the Trafalgar Cemetery by the Southport gate where we have seen a family of the famous Barbary Macaques running over the Gates, pursued by local environmental police with what appeared to be firecrackers who were trying to move them away from the city - this time all was peaceful. We then rushed back to the Cathedral expecting the service to be crowded which was not the case. We were warmly welcomed and invited to coffee and cakes after the service, we suspect few visitors make it to their services - we certainly saw nobody else from the ship.
The building of the Holy Trinity Church began in 1825, completed in 1832, and finally consecrated in 1838 in the presence of the Dowager Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV. Ten years latter it was raised to Cathedral status with the creation of the Diocese of Gibraltar. The Diocese included all Anglican chaplaincies from Portugal to the Caspian Sea, an impressive area.The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, as is its correct title now, was inaugurated at a service in this Cathedral in January 1981 in the presence of the Governor at the time. The new diocese includes the former Diocese of Gibraltar, together with the former Jurisdiction of North and Central Europe now a vast area considering its size and location. It reminds us of Bishop Selwyn who in NZ who was responsible for the whole of Melanesia, a fair percentage of the area of the globe if not population.
We hid on the end of a pew the other side of a pillar expecting the numbers to be large with many children but the numbers were quite low and we felt no need to use the masks we had brought from the ship despite the enthusiastic singing from those around us. We enjoyed the service and there was an unexpectedly long but interesting sermon which meant we had to beat a hasty retreat at the end of the service, through a convenient side door, to avoid the coffee cakes and long interrogations which we could see coming and walk at high speed to get back just before the QV sailed.
Gibraltar for the First Time Visitor
The Rock of Gibraltar is one of the two Pillars of Hercules; the other is in Morocco, just opposite. Peaking at 425 metres, Gibraltar measures less than 3 square miles and is home to about 30,000 people.The strategic strait it controls links the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and is only 8 miles wide at its narrowest point. The territory has always been disputed. The British seized it from the Spanish in 1704 and there was a famous siege by a French-Spanish expedition from 1779 to 1783. During this time an extensive network of defensive galleries were hewn by hand, and these are open for visits.
Most of our visits to Gibraltar seem to be very short and that is not too much of a problem as there is not a lot to see in Gibraltar - the main attraction is normally the trip up the 'Rock' by cablecar or minibus. We did the trip by minibus the first time we came because the cablecar had long lines from the ship tours. It was very interesting and we visited the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, took photos across the straits and continued to St Michael's Cave which is 300 metres above sea level with an excellent display of stalagmites and stalactites as well as an enormous natural auditorium which is used for concerts. The highlight is meeting the famous monkeys, there are two colonies of this tail-less Barbary Macaques on Gibraltar. One group lives on the rock face - the other group live at the Apes Den near the top of the cable car. We also walked through the Great Siege Tunnels which were excavated during the Great Siege of 1779-1783 and form a most impressive defensive system. Leaving the tunnels there are spectacular views. We have added some pictures from our Visit on the QE2 in 2005 for completeness.
It is quite a long walk from the ships mooring to the edge of town so there are shuttle buses available at a price. We walked towards town, passing a useful supermarket we had looked into on the previous visit. We found the Morrison's, which has replaced the old Safeway. The traditional Market was quiet and there were only a few craft stalls in Casemates Square which is just inside the walls. The Tourist Information explained how to walk up to the Moorish castle, but it was too late to visit all the sites, and too far to climb just for the view. We strolled down the main shopping street, passing lots of shops selling duty free cigarettes, drinks, and souvenirs. There were camera and electronics shops, and some clothes shops including BhS and M&S.
Main Street has the important public and religious buildings, most open to visit – John Mackintosh Hall, the Catholic Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the King's Chapel, the Supreme Court, the Garrison Library and the Convent which is the official residence of the Governor. The pictures following are mostly from our Visit in October 2014 on the Queen Victoria when we had better weather and more time.
As we stood outside the Catholic cathedral there was the sound of music and a band approached leading a small group dressed as old-fashioned soldiers with red jackets and carrying muskets, and with an enormous union flag. Behind them came another group pulling a small field artillery piece. This procession marched down towards Casemates Square.
We had seen a similar procession for the re-enactment of the ceremony of the keys when visiting on the Queen Victoria in December 2013.
We finally reached the Trafalgar Cemetery, named after the casualties of the Battle of Trafalgar who were buried there; it is just outside the Southport Gates. Last time a family of the famous Barbary Macaques had escaped from the Rock and were running over the Gates, pursued by two local environmental police with what appeared to be firecrackers who were trying to move them away from the city - this time all was peaceful. It is only a short distance to the Cable Car station and we tossed up whether to go up but the time constraints meant we would not be able to walk round the top from the cable car or have the time for a minibus trip so we retraced our steps visiting the remaining churches we had missed and taking a few diversions into the squares.
With time to spare one can pay a small sum to visit the Gibraltar Museum. The visit begins with a video about the history of Gibraltar which gave a useful context. A highlight was the large and detailed model of the Rock which was the centrepiece in a gallery of old photographs. There are rooms dedicated to natural history, marine biodiversity and the Great Seige. In the basement were the remains of a Moorish bathhouse which used to be part of the Governor's Palace. It was an interesting visit and we could spend more time there. Unfortunately cameras are not welcome.
