The Top Of The World Accessibility

While discovering 'The Top Of The World', we found this particular walk was one of the most accessible we have undertaken around Malta with a young child and toddler. There are a couple of hair-raising bits where we felt the need to take a firm grasp of little hands while their corresponding bodies tried to peer over the edge while squealing, 'Ooh, look how high we are!'. There was a steep incline at the end - be ready for 'Carry me!'. But otherwise, the kids roamed freely.

The silver crew, or slightly less abled, could also manage this walk. However, a wheelchair will have problems along one portion of the path, and the steep incline must be tackled slowly or avoided altogether.

How We Got To The Top Of The World

In February, we went for this particular walk on a fine Maltese Winter's day when the sun was shining, and the sky was blue. But for a complete story, let's begin at the beginning; let's start with how we got to 'The Top Of The World' in the first place.

Along the top of a very deep valley near one of the larger villages of Malta called Mosta is the route we take to the supermarket for our shopping. Every shopping trip resulted in 'But, there has to be some way of getting down!' from my husband, Carl, or myself. From every direction getting to the bottom looked similar to jumping off the nearest big city skyscraper without a parachute. Failing to inspire any inspiration ourselves, I used common sense instead. I inquired with some of my work colleagues.

'It's near to Mosta, and it's a valley. We know there must be a way down, but we don't know how to get down, and we don't know what it's called, so we can't look it up to see how we get down.' I explained, which got an answer and some directions. I passed these directions along to my husband, and the next day, we were all free; off we went.

So... Directions given? Check!

Phone GPS set to direct us? Check! (Remember this part for later and think of the game Chinese Whispers.)

Drinks and snacks? Check!

Before we had kids, we could leave about now, but...

Nappies and wet wipes for Taran? Check!

Spare clothing for whatever minor disaster may happen? Check!

'Isla did a pee-pee?' 'No!' 'Go and pee-pee.' 'I don't need to pee-pee!' 'Go! Pee-pee!'

Daughter did a pee-pee? Check!

Faces cleaned? Check!

Four people strapped into a car? Check!

Everything previously checked is now in the car with four people strapped into the car? Check!

Okay then, let's go!

As usual, Carl drove. This is not, I have to point out, because we are into the stereotypical man and his wife roles. Carl drives because, while I have been perfectly comfortable driving in England as soon as I hit legal age, I fear actually driving in Malta. This fear is reaching phobia-level. I acknowledge the need for something to be done about it, but for now, Carl drives. I, however, always backseat drive - because I could have done it better. A-hem!

Directing from the passenger seat, I watched the red arrow on the mobile and directed right or left until we got to 'You are here.'

Carl immediately realised that 'You are here.' was not where we had intended to be. With two kids in the back, letting it be known they thought they had been there long enough, we decided to walk anyway.

As it turns out, it was quite a lovely mistake. We really went to the 'Top Of The World'. Okay, this is a tiny island at sea level, so the 'Top Of The World' turned out to be a few extra metres above sea level, but still, you could see for many miles across the beautiful Maltese landscape.

The Walk

Meeting Some Birds And Men

The walk began on an almost straight and tarmacked road – such luxury! No rocks to climb. No cracks to jump. No death-defying sheer drop on one side! Malta! What has happened? Without death or severe dismemberment to make the walk interesting, Isla tugs at me. 'It's boring, Mummy! Let's go to the swings and slides!'

Luckily, right then, there were some interesting birds! Suddenly the walk became a bit more exciting. Big birds temporarily trumped swings and slides. We photographed the birds. We viewed, admired, and told the kids they were 'girl peacocks', called peahens. I suspect we lied because they didn't look like the pictures of peahens I googled later.

A little bit further along, two men were building something just below the road – my kids and one of the men had a friendly wave across the distance. A wave or a hello from a stranger always makes Isla's day.

The Colours Of Malta

On most outings, parents must be all-knowing about various flora and fauna – this trip was no exception. Any close-up flower or insect photographs I take are always at the end of a 'What's that, Mummy?' conversation. The usual reply is, 'Let's look it up later'. I think I now know the names of more flowers in Malta than in England.

As we continued walking, the view ahead showed the typical Maltese landscape during Winter; blues, greens and white. Malta's greenest season is Winter when the Mediterranean sun is less scorching. The smooth, dark greens of the growing plants are vivid in contrast to the bleached and pock-marked rock they nestle into. Add a topping of blue sky and outline everything with blue from the Mediterranean water; this is Malta.

The Death Defying View

The road ahead bends to the left at the end, and there is a sheer drop straight forward. Ah, there we are! What's a Maltese hike without the imminent threat of death through a sharp drop?

A few public benches are set out to admire the beautiful view from a seated position. One of the benches was in a very precarious position and without safety features of any kind -guess which of the benches the kids wanted to sit on?

A small platform with a rusty-looking wire for one's personal safety – let's ignore the gaping holes at the bottom - jutted out a little further over the drop. This allowed one to risk life and limb for a better view or a beautiful panoramic photograph like this one. One or both of us held the kids in a death grip while we admired and photographed. My husband even braved the 'contemplation of life' bench and pretended relaxation so I could snap a photo.

The only minus point was some rubbish which had gathered around the benches. Why can't people take their trash away with them?!

Walking As A Family

The left turn took us to a slightly rougher track with a death-defying drop on the right side mitigated by a wall above the height of Isla without holes at the bottom, large enough for Taran. The left side was a steep, rocky yet flora-covered hill. In relative safety, the kids were allowed off-hand. They ran by themselves along the path while other families did the same. The walk wasn't busy, but it wasn't deserted either.

A Walk Of Many Parts

The Historical View

The surprise at the end of the track is a beautiful picnic area called Ghal Ghar, which is accessible from the opposite direction by car. There are benches and tables to eat or read whilst overlooking the valley. We took a slight detour around the benches, established a death grip on both kids, stood in front of a terrifying drop, and looked out over the valley towards the Victoria Lines, a set of fortifications from Malta's history.

The walk along 'The Top Of The World' is a walk of many parts, with each one being completely different from the previous one: the panoramic view, the picnic/reading area, the historical view, the poignant view, the religious view and the quaint view. Next was the poignant view.

The Poignant View

A small planted flower tribute to someone's dead son was at the roadside. February is one of Malta's 'growing' months, and everything was in full bloom: beautiful and touching.

The Religious View

The religious view came soon after and was worth the walk all by itself. It's a church for tiny people! Okay, so maybe not. Malta is a Roman Catholic Island and very religious, with many churches all vying with each other in size and decoration. This stands out as Malta's smallest church. It is an incredible replica of the much larger Gharghur church, complete with doors and bells. The whole thing is created from stones, pebbles and shells. It is definitely something to see and is far more than this photo shows!

The Quaint View

After the mini-church, a short stretch of road is followed by an incredibly steep climb to the quaint little village of Gharghur. This last bit was the cue for a slurry of complaints from short legs! My two-year-old son was passed between us depending on whose arms were most tired. At the ripe old age of four, Isla was a big girl and had to walk it – oh, the unfairness! Suddenly being a 'big girl' wasn't such a good thing!

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Obviously, what goes up must come down, and after the tough climb up, we went down towards the car and the end of this walk around 'The Top Of The World'.