Camp Bay and Little Bay

Camp Bay and Little Bay are two small coves on Gibraltar's western side where there was never much sand, so the territory built concrete terraces, steps and swimming pools into the rock instead, and that is how they are used: sunbathing on concrete and swimming off the steps into deep clear water. The bay and the Spanish coast are in view and the water is calmer than the eastern side. The terraces were built in the 1960s when Gibraltar was creating recreational space on a peninsula with almost none.

The landscape

• The concrete terraces - the built sunbathing ground where sand never was.
• The pools - the basins built into the rock at Camp Bay.
• The deep water entry - swimming off steps rather than from a beach.
• The bay view - the Spanish coast across the water.

When to go

June to September is the swimming season and when the pools operate. The western side is more sheltered than the east. Weekends are crowded.

Before you go

There is no sand at all; this is concrete and steps. The pools are dated. It gets crowded in summer.

Nearby

Rosia Bay is south, and the town is north.