At this time of the year the Maltese islands offer some of the most fascinating country walks in the Mediterranean, taking in secluded coastal zones, an exhilarating array of scenic landscapes rich in geological features, deserted beaches, majestic cliffs, historic and archaeological sites, coastal towers and wayside chapels scattered in remote inaccessible corners far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
The Ramblers’ Association of Malta has launched its walks programme for spring, a selection of over 24 treks from April to early July, offering hikers the opportunity to savour these sights and sites of spring, rich in floral splendour.
In early spring, engulfed in the sheer beauty of wild flowers, the Maltese archipelago presents a floral paradise when fields offer a riot of wild flowers. Ramblers can marvel at the floral extravaganza decking the gentle green hills that looked so bare and forbidding in the hot summer months.
Along the Dwejra Lines, a line of fortifications that stretches from Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq (Sea of Pebbles) to Fomm ir-Riħ (Mouth of the Wind) ramblers walk past fields of white and yellow mustard seeds (ġarġir abjad/isfar) interspersed with pockets of red clover (silla) or red poppies bordered by banks of the dainty yellow cape sorrel (ħaxixa Ingliza) and the crown daisy (lellux).
At this time Maltese flora appears at its brilliant best as one rambles along footpaths discovering the lovely Sweet Allison (buttuniera) with its exquisite white flowers, the very rare Travellers’ Joy (il-kiesħa), the Red Campion (Ilsien l-Għasfur) and hundreds of other species that make Maltese flora unique.
Some of the trails are along pathways on the rich garigue (xagħri), particularly in Comino, Selmun and Binġemma, all featured in the spring programme, where one can smell the intoxicating fragrance of wild thyme (sagħtar), home of the Maltese honey bee, the sweet smell of yellow flowered fennel plant (bużbież) as one observes the sudden change in the Maltese landscape and the dramatic variation in topography.
English poet William Blake, in his spiritual poem To See a World, muses:
“To see a world in a grain of sand/and heaven in a wild flower./Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/and eternity in an hour.”
If Blake could see heaven in a wild flower then surely an endless paradise awaits the discerning Maltese rambler with a feel for nature.
Of course, there are other rewards for the compulsive rambler in an island where obesity is rampant, not least that of a healthy lifestyle. George Trevelyan, a former professor of modern history at Cambridge, closely associated with the National Trust of Great Britain in the 1930s, once quipped: “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.”
Unfortunately our earthly paradise, blessed with a gentle climate, non-ethnic divisions, exceptional coastal zones and beautiful countryside, is continuously being threatened as unscrupulous land-grabbers and speculators both local and foreign, who continue to nibble away at what is our national patrimony by birthright.
If Blake could see heaven in a wild flower, then an endless paradise awaits the Maltese rambler with a feel for nature
The Ramblers’ seasonal walks also enable members to keep a watchful eye and report illegalities and irregularities to the competent authorities to help prevent rustic rubble walls, corbelled huts (giren), silos in Punic and Bronze Age villages, rock tombs and sometimes even time-honoured cemeteries from being suddenly and with astonishing rapidity and regularity reduced to ruins by modern machinery.
Some of the walks in the spring programme have historical and ecclesiastical significance as ramblers explore sites relating to our paleo-Christian or monastic heritage, as at Miġra Ferħa, reputedly the crevice where Count Roger of Normandy landed in 1091 to restore Christianity to the Maltese.
Not far from the architectural splendour and sophistication of Mdina, the ancient capital city of Malta, scheduled for a visit in early July, lies the medieval church of Il-Lunzjata, overlooking Wied Liemu, commanding breathtaking views of the Arcadian scenery, with an underground chapel dedicated to San Leonardo, patron saint of slaves.
The first-ever published map of the Maltese islands, the Camocio Map of circa 1510, includes the rolling countryside in the Rabat area, including the ancient medieval church. Nearby lie the medieval pastures of Ta’ Baldu, visited by the painter and traveller William Schellings (1664) as described in his book Viaggio del Sud.
Hopefully our island will continue to offer the thrill of the unexpected in the form of derelict medieval hamlets and Punic sites, enigmatic cart ruts that still baffle the most erudite historians, the ancient cave-dwellings, notarial deeds on marble slabs, vernacular art represented by sculptured figures, images of death like ‘a soul in flames’, sun dials and aedicules.
Most importantly, our pious hope is to retain the peace and tranquility in the diminishing areas for wilderness rambling as in the expanse of Baħrija, Fomm ir-Riħ and Mtaħleb in Malta and the remote Ras il-Wardija in Gozo. These pristine areas offer serene enjoyment and reflection and the consolation of a benign ancient rural environment for spiritual enjoyment far from the madding crowds.
My final parting line is from the poet W.H. Davies: “What is this life if full of care/we have no time to stand and stare.”
www.ramblersmalta.com
Lino Bugeja is honorary president of the Ramblers’ Association.