Jaqui & Lizzie (+ Lawrence's Shadow) at Baħrija
I was accompanied on today’s walk by our friend Lizzie, visiting from the UK. A couple of days ago (Tuesday) we repeated the previous stage (Dingli Cliffs to Baħrija) so that Lizzie could continue from where she had left off in September. She has now done four consecutive stages of the circumnavigation, all the way from Wied iż-Żurrieq to Ġnejna Bay, and hopes to carry on with her own circumnavigation on her next visit. I must say that it was refreshing to do the walk on Tuesday without the tyranny of the constant use of the camera to document the walk for this blog. Today it was back to normal camera duties but I have it in mind to do a second circumnavigation, camera-free, next year.
Kunċizzjoni Chapel 1731
The natural route onward along the coast from Baħrija is directly down the road which leads to the cliff-top overlooking the bay of Fomm ir-Riħ. However the track ahead is closed to the public. Hence a detour inland was required. Next time I do this walk I will attempt a dash across the private section but on this occasion the detour was no hardship as the longer route takes in one of my favourite roads on the Island.
The "Three Lakes" view of the Għajn Tuffieħa area.
We headed inland on the Rabat road and then took the first left branching back to the Kunċizzjoni Chapel. This is a delightful road with ever-changing views Northwards to Gozo and Eastwards to Mġarr and Mellieħa. The road is a a dead-end and we then continued along a track when we soon encountered the Western extremity of the Victoria Lines – the Maltese “Hadrian’s Wall” built by the British in the nineteenth century to impede the progress toward Valletta of any hostile forces which landed in the Northern part of the Island.
Victoria Lines
We descended the course of the wall to the cliffs overlooking the spectacular Fomm ir-Riħ (“mouth of the wind”) Bay. Then we crossed the neck of Ras il-Pelligrin (“Pellegrin Head”) and descended to the beach at Ġnejna Bay. We chose a direct descent, by a path which had been used by trail bikes and very soon began to regret the decision. The path was steeper than it looked and treacherously slippery where the motorcycles had churned up the mud. However we made it safely to the beach.
Fomm ir-Riħ Bay
Our original destination for the day had been Golden Bay and we carried on from Ġnejna towards the clay slopes of Il-Karraba. However the going is quite difficult by this lower route and we were conscious that Lizzie had a plane to catch in the afternoon. So we called Jaqui to change the final destination to Ġnejna and returned to the beach there for the pick up.
Ġnejna Beach with Lippija Tower above
Please see the photo journey for a more detailed look at today’s route. Don’t forget to read the captions!
Il-Karraba. A step too far today - back soon!