MA1 - Beautifully constructed retaining wall

The heat of June did not stop this second visit to Majjesa being fully subscribed. In fact a group of around twenty-five made it this time round. It will remain Ramblers policy to restrict both visits and participants to this remote, unspoilt and ecologically sensitive site but at the same time RAM feels the need to "claim" the foreshore access in this area against any present and future denials of access. This was the first afternoon walk for RAM and the penultimate one before the summer break. We will be up and walking again in October.

MA2 -A wild and scenic landscape

The first part of this 8-kilometre route cuts across Xaghra l-Hamra - possibly the largest garigue area on the Island and now sadly threatened by the planned golf course despite its undoubted ecological and scenic value.

MA3 - Slow progress on steep inclines

Once across the garigue expanse we made our way down to the boulder scree beneath - a magnificent rock and boulder strewn area with very rough terrain but also some sure signs of past habitation and cultivation, including a deep well and a few beautifully constructed retaining walls. Once past the point of Ras il-Wahx the terrain becomes easier with signs of much more recent habitation - namely illegal boathouses / summer residences. It is in such places that one bemoans the ineffectiveness of our so-called authorities in combating the many illegalities that mar our few remaining open spaces.

Regaining the upper cliff path we made our way back to Manikata past some ruined farmhouses - remnants of the original Manikata hamlet now silent and abandoned. One augurs that the developers' axe does not await this magnificently austere area, in which case Malta and its future generations will be the sure losers.

MA4 - View towards Gnejna and Ghajn Tuffieha