As the winter rains make the countryside greener and the cooler weather encourages healthy rambles, a new guidebook promotes 13 walks spanning the island.
Called The Malta Coastal Walk, the spiral-bound publication charts in great detail a 155-kilometre stretch combining the countryside, limestone paths, pavements and streets in towns and villages.
The easy-to-carry handbook is the brainchild of two great lovers of nature and avid walkers: 31-year-old Jonathan Henwood and 70-year-old Irishman Emmet McMahon.
Mr Henwood, a botanist and environmental scientist, met Mr McMahon – whose claim to fame was that he walked around the entire border of an EU state – after trekking the coast of Malta and Gozo.
You start seeing all the beautiful things that foreigners see but we take for granted
“We realised there was a gap in books related to walking. Either they were old or they lacked maps and, very often, when we were out rambling we’d meet people – especially foreigners – who were completely lost,” Mr Henwood said.
Five years ago, they started putting together a book and came up with Malta: 10 Great Walks, which was quickly followed by Gozo: 10 Great Walks.
In May 2012, they started working on a more detailed book and came up with The Malta Coastal Walk, which starts and ends in Valletta.
“We want people to get a feel of where they are, to understand the key places, the history and the beauty of the place,” Mr Henwood said.
Each walk lists key features, bus routes, the length of the ramble, a map and some background about the area.
After trying it out themselves at least twice, each itinerary is tried and tested by an outsider – usually Mr Henwood’s wife Rachel – to make sure the given route is correct.
“All you need is one wrong turning or a gate that wasn’t there before to ruin it,” he said.
Writing the books and testing the walks turned out to be an eye-opener for Mr Henwood. “I have been to places and encountered things that I would have never thought I would see. One day when I was walking in Baħrija to try out walk number 7, I saw an otter, for example,” he said.
Another time, he discovered a path in Dingli that leads ramblers from the top of the cliffs to sea level.
“It’s such a grand feeling when you discover these things but you will always discover something new when you go to the familiar places.”
In another discovery, he stumbled across an apiary dating back to the Roman times in Mellieħa.
The two have another book in the pipeline – The Gozo Coastal Walk – which has not yet been published due to lack of funds. In fact, they were able to publish The Malta Coastal Walk through help from the Malta International Airport.
Mr Henwood says the book will improve “your knowledge and appreciation” of the country. It is easy to carry, and spiral bound with useful boxes of information including the distance, level of difficulty and major hills.
“Through these walks, you start seeing all the beautiful things that foreigners see but we take for granted or don’t even know about – aside from the fact that it is healthy,” Mr Henwood said with a smile.
The book is available at all major bookshops for €10. A Kindle version is also available on www.amazon.com. For more information, and to buy a PDF version of the book, visit www.greatwalksmalta.com.