The first De Redin tower
1658 — the start of the series that covered the whole coast.
Frank Vincentz — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Frank Vincentz — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Frank Vincentz — CC BY-SA 3.0 · HengisttheNord — CC BY 3.0
The ruins of the first watchtower built by Grand Master Martin de Redin in 1658, on high ground overlooking Mellieħa Bay at the northern end of Malta. What remains is a ruin rather than a building. The tower was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1856 and then left, and what stands today is partial walls and foundations. That makes it different from Malta's other, restored towers: here the structure is exposed — the thickness of the walls and the method of building — with no layer of restoration over it. The position is the real reason to climb. From here the view runs across the whole of Mellieħa Bay and out to the islands of Comino and Gozo to the north, and on clear days the Gozitan coast is plainly visible. This is exactly the view the watchman was watching. Decisive practical points: there are no facilities, no barriers and no signs. Access is an uphill walk on a poorly marked dirt path taking about twenty minutes from the nearest road. The ruins themselves are unsecured — do not climb the walls. The ground is rocky and uneven.
1658 — the start of the series that covered the whole coast.
The ruin shows wall thickness and building method with no restoration over it.
The bay, Comino and Gozo — precisely what was being watched.
Above Mellieħa Bay, northern Malta
If you like walking and sites empty of visitors, yes. If you want a restored tower you can enter, go to Wignacourt Tower or the Red Tower instead. This is a site for the view and the solitude rather than for preserved architecture.
The path is poorly marked, so take a map or an app that works offline. There is no shade and no water, so carry water. The ruins are unstable and there are no barriers at the rock edges — do not climb the walls or approach the edge, particularly in wind.
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