15/05/2009 Gozo: Victoria - Gharb - San Lawrenz

Setting off from Victoria bus station, we followed the main road to Gharb, turning right into the village and taking the right fork at the church emerging onto the path following the Wied Il-Mielah, enjoying the views across to Ta'-Pinu church and Gordan lighthouse. At the mouth of the Wied we took the concrete road to the left that quickly became a narrower path. We emerged into an area of worn cliffs that, at times, almost resembled a lunar landscape. We followed a narrow path up to the cliffs and, unfortunately, became separated at this point. After separately exploring the cliffs, we met up again on the outskirts of Gharb. We followed the road to the left in the direction of the tiny village of Birbuba. Before reaching there, we took the road to the left leading past the Taz-Zejt chapel. Finally, we turned left towards San Lawrenz where we caught the bus back to Victoria.

13/05/2009 Xemxija - Golden Bay

With the weather geting warmer by the day, we'd decided this would be the last walk for the Wednesday group until September. We decided that the last walk of the spring would be one of our favourites, starting from our usual meeting place in Xemxija and ending at Golden Bay. We set off up the Roman road, turning left through the woods which extend for well over a mile across the Bajda ridge. Turning right at the end of the woods, we turned left, following the Manikata road for a few yards before carrying straight on to the cliffs above Golden Bay and their stunning views. We split into two groups, those who wanted to explore the cliffs further and those who wanted to take the more direct route. We turned left, behind the large hotel, then right and right again to meet up at the cafe above Golden Bay. Finally, a couple of us finished the walk with a dip in the sea.

11/05/2009 Zurrieq - Blue Grotto - Qrendi

We found our way through the narow twisting streets of Zurrieq, passing the impressive church on the way, and emerging on the road towards the Blue Grotto. Gradually descending the valley, we stopped several times to admire the views along the Wied Sabu. We followed the road down to the Blue Grotto taking a slight short cut down the rocky path that was once, presumably, the road to the Grotto. We spent some time time exploring the the Grotto but decided against a boat trip on this occasion. We retraced our steps up to the coast road and turned left in the direction of the Hagar Qim temple, stopping on the way to photograph the Wied Il-Zurrieq from above. Finally, we turned right to take the road into Qrendi to comlete our walk.

08/05/2009 Gozo: Victoria - Zebbug - Gharb

We turned right out of Victoria bus station, going straight on at the cossroads and then headed left, beneath the walls of the Citadel in the direction of Ghasri. We crossed the Zebbug road along a narrow road, turning right just before we got to Ghasri. Turning left into a wider road, we then walked through the attractive village of Zebbug, stopping to admire the church. We then followed a winding, rough road downhill that became a rough track, eventually bearing slightly left to bring us out at the valley of Wied Il-Ghasri. We skirted this valley and walked along a track that took us high above the cliffs. When we reached Wied Il-Mielah we took a short diversion to the right to photograph the spetacular sea arch; although eroded naturally, it looks for all the world like some huge ancient monument. We then returned to the path that led along the Wied Il-Mielah, now dry after weeks of little rain, eventually taking a right fork that brought us out at the delightful village of Gharb, where we sat a while to admire the attractive main square. We pomised we would return one day soon to visit the Folk Museum. From there, we rejoined the main road back to Victoria, stopping several times on the way to admire the views, particularly of the Ta Pinu church to our left.

06/05/2009 Burmarrad - Bidnija

We set out once again from Burmarrad, this time setting off up the hill past a small chapel. The path gradually petered out and we had to follow the edge of a field before we came across the rough path that led over the hill in the direction of Bidnija. Passing several villas and houses we finally arrived at Bidnija's delightful church where we stopped to rest for a while. Some of the group decided to return the way we had come, the rest of us turning left to follow the road downhill. We took a path to the left that led past fields, a pond and a huge bank of bamboo, before joining the main Burmarrad road. A small group of us crossed the road and followed a series of tracks and narrow roads finally arriving at Kennedy Grove.

04/05/2009 Dwejra Lines - Mgarr

We set off in warm sunshine from the outskirts of Mosta heading westward along the Victoria Lines, passing a deep quarry on our left. Crossing the Mosta-Mgarr road, we joined the Dwejra Lines following a rough, narrow path. Meeting a wider path, we turned left and then right past some former military buildings. After a short distance, we turned right to join the narrow path along the Dwejra Lines, admiring some striking views across northern Malta as far as Gozo in the distance. After a mile or so we crossed a valley, stopping to look back towards the catacombs. By then a huge back cloud had added something of a sense of drama to the view. We decided to risk carrying on rather than taking the shorter route to Mgarr. Luckily, the black cloud gave way to sunshine. We followed a rough narrow path, still following the lines, climbing to a high promontory then descending to join a narrow road. After a few yards we followed another narrow path that forked off to the left and climbed to an even higher promontory with an abandoned fort. We descended to a narrow road that turned south to join the Mgarr road, which we followed through farmland for two miles or so until we reached our destination. Not a walk for the faint hearted!

29/04/2009 Burmarrad - Mosta Fort

We started from near Burmarrad church in warm sunshine, taking the small road beside the garden centre in the direction of Salina. We turned right along a small road through farmland until we reached the Burmarrad - Naxxar road. We turned right here and, after a few yards, turned left along a path through more farmland. We then followed the line of the water channel where we were delighted by the sight of numerous swallows diving through the trees and swooping down to the water. We crossed the channel where it widened at a small dam. We continued to follow the channel, this time keeping it on our left and recrossed it at another small dam then followed a narrow path that led into an area of open fields. Here, the rest of the group turned back but two of us continued on towards the Victoria Lines. We climbed the rocky escarpment until we reached a flight of steps leading to an area of gardens behind the Lines where we turned left, eventually reaching Mosta Fort. Here we turned back, heading towards Mosta where we caught the bus back.

27/04/2009 Qawra - Pembroke - St. George's Bay

On a warm but rather overcast day, we set out from Qawra past Kennedy Grove. We turned up the hill past the small chapel then turned left towards the Naxxar Road where we turned right and, after a few yards, turned left through an area of small farms reaching the main coast road near Ghallis Tower. We followed the coast road for two miles or so, braving a strong head wind, until we reached Bahar Ic-Caghaq where we turned left following the road behind the Marine Park. This gradually petered out until it became a narrow track. We then turned inland towards Pembroke where we stopped a while at the military cemetery. We kept to the left of the Coast Road, eventually turning left towards our destination of St . George's Bay.

24/04/2009 Rabat - Dingli - Mdina

After a short break from walking due to poor weather, we were happy to see a return to sunshine, even if the day started a little cloudy. We set off from Rabat, heading for Dingli and then on to Dingli cliffs, the highest point in Malta. By then, the sun was out in force and we were rewarded with some excellent, if slightly hazy, views below the cliffs and across to the small island of Filfla. We decided to turn to the right for once and headed on past the "golf ball". We explored some of the farmland, met up with a large, aggressive dog, got a little lost, and then headed back in the direction of Dingli. Just before entering the village we took the road to the left and at the next crossroads turned right. This took us into a valley and then back to Rabat and, finally, Mdina.

17/04/2009 Marsaxlokk - Birzebugga - Zurrieq

Starting out from the busy fishing harbour at Marsaxlokk, we followed the road around the headland in the direction of the tiny St. George's Bay. We then followed a short coastal path that rejoined the road just above Birzebugga where we stopped a while to admire the beatifully kept and aptly named Pretty Bay; pretty, that is, if you can ignore the sight of the Malta Freeport towering above the bay. We then followed the main road out of Birzebugga for a short distance before turning down a narrow road back towards the coast that led shortly to a busy road through the large industrial estate behind the Hal-Far Raceway. After a couple of kilometres or so of this, we were glad to find a small road off to the left that once again led back towards the coast. We were rewarded by some excellent views across the rural landscape; however, we found the walking very tough, involving descents into three deep valleys before arriving at the welcome sight of the attractive and historic little town of Zurrieq where we caught the bus back to Valletta.

15/04/2009 Chadwick Lakes

Thinking that this might be our last chance this year to see the lakes with some water in them, we set off from the small chapel just off an island on the road between Mosta and Rabat. Turning into the narrow lane leading to the lakes, we were delighted to find the whole area blooming with an array of spring flowers. Our progress was slower than usual as our walk turned into something of a nature trail. The first of the lakes was empty but when we reached the top lake we were pleased to find it still fairly full. We carried on along a narrow path skirting a small vineyard before turning back once we reached the road and retracing our steps.