Tag Archives: alameda botanical gardens

3:15 (2016) A single picture (in Alameda) can speak a thousand words

24 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by in Gibraltar, Memoirs of Gibraltar, travel, tripadvisor

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Slipping down left from the Main Road into Alameda Botanical Gardens was (for me) like walking into the garden of Eden; the minute I entered it was almost like arriving on a different (though very familiar) planet. If there’s such a concept as a  ‘place’ being happy to receive an old friend then the way I felt needs no explanation; it was almost as though I was having a telepathic two-way conversation with the trees, the bushes, the cacti and the shrubs. We were all welcoming each other. Especially the Wonky Tree that looked as though it was bending down getting ready to whisper something to me.
(The Wonky Tree)

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Just a few yards in and the sound of traffic was replaced by a very beautiful silence, a silence I hadn’t heard since 21 November 1976 (see post 2:59) when the only sounds to break the silence then were the sounds of our children playing on the park (for the last time before we flew back to UK). Walking down into the hub of the gardens was both astonishing and thrilling. It was astonishing because it felt as though I’d never been away and it was thrilling because wherever I went within this gorgeous labyrinth I knew exactly where I was. Although there had been new developments (that I was yet to discover) fundamentally (to me) the only change I detected was that it was ever more tranquil and beautiful.


(Sometimes words are not necessary)

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I could tell you that Wikipedia says the gardens were commissioned in 1816 by the then Governor of Gibraltar General George Don so that his soldiers had somewhere recreational to go when off duty and that local people could enjoy the outdoors and be protected from the extreme sun. But you can easily read that for yourself (along with the history of the Rock, it’s politics and other statistics of general interest). However if  I had anything at all to say about George Don’s vision and the creation of the Alameda (speaking as an apolitical, yet pro-British non-Gibraltarian) it would be – thank you.


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Sometimes I think words are not always necessary, and (as the old saying goes) a picture can speak a thousand words. When I look at some of the many photographs I took as I walked through the Alameda I don’t think anything I say today could add to what they say. This enchanted corner of this enchanting Rock enchants all who encounter it all on its own without any help from anywhere. What I did know was that during my seven day stay (in addition to whatever else I did) I would visit the Alameda every day.


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Although I didn’t have a lot of time – having spent the whole morning on the Med Steps –  I was happy enough to take a seat and at least spend a little time with ‘my old friend Alameda’ and for us both drift away into our world, if only for a while. 

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2:32 (1976) In Alameda Gardens my children’s faces said it all

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Gibraltar, Memoirs of Gibraltar, travel, tripadvisor

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If I lived in Gibraltar today I would probably want to adopt a couple of kids just so that I could take them to play in the Children’s Playground in Alameda Botanical Gardens. Yes, okay, I know, I’m being silly writing that (and there’s more chance of seeing pigs fly) but I guess the point I’m trying to make is that when I look back at photos of my children playing there I don’t really need to write anything because their faces say it all.  

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Of course I’m totally biased (because readers will already be aware of my love for Alameda) but it doesn’t take a professor to know that kids would rather have 5 minutes than £5 and I can’t think of anywhere better to spend time with them.


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The play park itself was very basic back in 1976 but in those days that’s exactly what children wanted, uncomplicated play. Alameda children’s park has changed quite a lot since then, if I remember rightly it looks much more like an adventure playground with nets to climb and obstacles up a height. I guess play parks have had to up their game to compete with technology these days but there’ll always be something lovely about simplicity for the little people.


On my recent visits in and out of Alameda (May 2016) I noticed loads of new ideas taking shape and loved them all particularly the children’s garden that was planted with all sorts of vegetables and which even has a bee hotel; also the new and wonderful indoor botanical garden that was inaugurated this year by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. Sadly it was locked on the day I went to see it but I did get a grasp of things looking through the windows. A personal favourite new arrival that was certainly not there in 1976 is the Monkey Totem Pole (check him out).


(2016 Children’s Garden, Alameda with Bee Hotel)



(2016 Monkey Totem Pole, Alameda)


(2016 Indoor Botanical garden, Alameda)


(2016 Selfie in Alameda)

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For me I think much of the charm of Alameda is that even when I’m on my own I find it almost like a retreat; I can be lost in there all day (as though in David Bowie’s Labyrinth) either walking the walks and enjoying the flora, or sitting in the midst of a rockery smelling the herbs and reflecting on life. I can be in a place where the only thing I can hear is silence and then a few minutes later the sounds of children playing. And that really brings me nicely back to my theme of today, the children growing up. The photos on this page are among my favourite of all time because looking at them I see my children as they began that process of growing up (in the beautiful Alameda).

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