Buskett Gardens

We tried a walk in the southern part of the island today starting from these gardens which are one of the few heavily wooded areas of Malta.

Overlooking the gardens is the Verdala Palace, summer residence of the President of Malta. Buskett Gardens are not manicured gardens in the true sense of the word, rather they are woodlands populated by native species and citrus trees. A shady place to walk in the heat of summer.

There was no guide or map or information about the gardens, there were plenty of signs telling you what was not permitted and signs with information about how some of the walls were being restored. So we don’t know whether we saw the best of the gardens.

Also absent was any sign of a cafe. There was a sign for Château Buskett which promised coffee and snacks. I was told it was closed today. Not a lot of help.

So, our bit of exploring of the gardens completed we set out on the walk. Even though I’m experienced at navigation this walk was a challenge. In the end we decided to cut short the route returning to Buskett Gardens by missing out a few miles. We did see a doline, a collapsed cave system, but missed out on the ancient cart ruts known as “Clapham Junction”

It was late in the afternoon so we repaired to a cafe in Rabat for a platter of traditional produces; cheese and sausage with a beer or two before returning to the apartment for our final meal.

Malta has grown on me, the weather today was sunny with clear blue skies, windy with great visibility over the northern coast. This is what we were expecting the weather to be. We’ll probably visit again, perhaps early June might be a good time. There’s plenty more to see yet.

Thank you for all your comments this week. You’ve seemed to enjoy the journal and relived your own experiences of Malta.