Fort Campbell — Attraction in Mellieha

Trails and narrow beaten roads provide hiking access to this area open to an undated, free roaming exploration. The fort itself is undeveloped as a tourist attraction, and is more or less in its 'natural' state - this made exploring it an especially meaningful experience -- like a true discovery it was not a paid-experience.. instead, it was a found-experience. Wandering around I was curious and Inquisitive.. looking to see what's around each corner or behind each bush. CAUTION - as an undeveloped space it has the same risks as a natural landscape such as a slippery hills, collapsed building wreckage or cave like spaces - there are holes to fall into, slopes to slide on, bushes to get tangled in, dark spaces and rubble everywhere.. To me, this further added to the authentic experience of exploring. I didn't feel as though I was being shown a recreated artifact for the low-low price of admission. Instead, there was the joy of solving the puzzles that come from exploring anything new. what is that? What did this used to be? I wonder how that happened? You start to see the evidence of history for myself - charred remains of a fire, collapsed roofs, large impact craters, crushed gates, bent bars, hastily evacuated spaces. Void rooms. Collapsed tunnels. Filled caches and wells. .. it feels like you are doing what you are doing.. authentically exploring an abandoned world war 2 fort.. with all its history - recent and distant, including the graffiti... Now I insist on you treating this place with respect, like any natural park -- pack out anything you bring in with you, and leave no trace. There are broken bottles and garbage left from decades of youth partying and leaving behind trash.. a little cleanup wouldn't hurt but certainly I hope it doesn't accumulate more trash... what is there is enough to tell you its own story. I think it needs nothing added. I only wish there was information about the site on the road up. A story to set the backdrop to the environment. When I got back I immediately googled the site looking for info and wished there was more of what's known available to read. What kind of action did it see? What spaces were used for what? When did it get built, what were the challenges, when was it decommissioned and how. What happened to the armaments? A great experience and...

This is a fascinating structure built by the British at the beginning of WWII. As you walk around it is sad to see the state of disrepair it has fallen into- lots of smashed windows, graffiti on walls, rubbish dumped all over the place, a complete shell of its former self but still a wonder to behold.

Consider parking around here (put this into Google Maps -- 35°57'49.1"N 14°23'20.9"E ) if you can, if not then carry on until you get to the main parking area ( 35.965503, 14.390195 ) however the dirt track to get there is narrow and windy. I visited in early October and didn't see another person for a few hours so I suspect parking will not be a problem.

Avoid taking children and animals, there are a few dangers like broken glass on the floor and sharp edges around some of the door frames. Some of the rooms and buildings are legitimately in danger of collapsing so be vigilant and look into spaces before you walk through them. There are also a few sudden drops - nothing to be worried about if you keep your eyes open and watch what...

In an unfortunate state of neglect, Fort Campbell is a great visit for any enthusiast visiting the island for its World War fortifications. The fortification's outer wall is intact, with the outer lying barrack buildings in decent condition. The inner, sunken buildings are in disrepair, collapsed, un-enterable, however the former gun positions are still in pretty decent nick (minus the rubbish), offering a great insight to how things may have operated back then.

If one is a walker, it is reachable by foot from Mellieha, past the Selmun Palace, albeit not a short walk. From the Fort one can follow the outer wall towards the coast, down past the ancient Roman salt pans and over the opposing cliffs, passing other ruins, pillboxes, St.Paul island and Mistra gun battery. Ending up...