Books by Nick Nutter

Exploring Gibraltar: The Rock from Bottom to Top

'The Rock from Bottom to Top' is the story of Gibraltar written for the visitor who wants to know a little more than is gleaned from a standard travel guide. It explains how Gibraltar came to be, “Probably the most fought over and most densely fortified place in Europe, and probably, therefore, in the world.” (Field Marshal Sir John Chapple (Governor of Gibraltar 1993 – 1995)).

By Nick Nutter on 2024-11-23 | Last Updated 2024-11-29 | Books by Nick Nutter

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Exploring Gibraltar

First Published

First published in 2016, The Rock from Bottom to Top was due for an overhaul. We are pleased to publish a second edition on the 320th anniversary of Britain's capture of Gibraltar in 1704.

Completely updated with new images, stories, and anecdotes, Exploring Gibraltar is like no other travelogue or guidebook.

The Rock from Bottom to Top is for anybody interested in the history, attractions, and culture of Gibraltar. You may even decide to visit.

The Rock from Bottom to Top

Incredible as it may seem today Gibraltar has not always been considered of strategic importance. For the people who inhabited this land until the time of the Moors, it was seen as an inhospitable lump of rock with no particular value or redeeming feature. Even after the Moorish invasion in 711 AD, it was to be a few more hundreds of years, until 1160, before the first fortified town was built and a couple of hundred more years, 1309, before anybody else, in this case, the Spanish busily re-conquering Spain, coveted it for themselves. Since then, many people have wanted to occupy Gibraltar, and fortification has been built on fortification to stop those invaders from achieving their aims.

Today ‘The Rock’ is principally a fortified hill advantageously positioned strategically, hence its moniker ‘Fortress Gibraltar.’ It is virtually impossible to visit any part of The Rock without being in view of some feature that reminds you of this, yet Gibraltar has so much more to offer the visitor and resident.

Amongst all this military activity it is often forgotten that Gibraltar has been and is home to a considerable number of civilians. Through the ages, they have brought their own cultures, traditions, and beliefs to this disputed territory that has generally been more tolerant of other races and religions than possibly anywhere else on Earth until modern times. The result is a kaleidoscopic microcosm that has to be experienced to be at least appreciated if not enjoyed.

This book is much more than a travel guide. Every street, building, attraction, and feature on The Rock has its own story. It is impossible to walk around Gibraltar without encountering the history that seems to be absorbed into the fabric of the place. This book does not try to avoid the historical issues, it embraces and deals with them as and when they are encountered. This does mean that the history of Gibraltar is not presented in a strictly chronological order but that idiosyncratic approach could easily reflect Gibraltar itself. It always has been an unusual place.

Buy or Read the Book

Now available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle as an ebook. For those with a Kindle subscription, the book is also available free to read in Kindle Unlimited.

Buy or Read Exploring Gibraltar Now