Xemxija, the quiet corner of St Paul's Bay

Xemxija is the bit of St Paul’s Bay that hardly anyone talks about, which is exactly why I like it. It climbs a hillside at the head of the bay, in the same council as Buġibba and Qawra but without their size or their noise. Two things set it apart from its neighbours, a proper bird reserve and a hillside scattered with ancient remains.

Simar, from dump to wetland

The Simar reserve lies on Triq il-Pwales in Xemxija, at the end of the Wied il-Pwales valley, and is run by BirdLife Malta. Its story is one of the best on the island. Until the 1980s it was a rubbish dump, a theme park was proposed for the site, and BirdLife put forward a plan to bring the wetland back instead. Work started in 1992 with pools, channels, islands and hundreds of trees.

It’s now a bird sanctuary, a Ramsar site and a Natura 2000 area, and BirdLife says no other site in Malta has breeding coots or little grebes. In 2014 black-winged stilts nested there for the first time. There’s a trail, volunteers happy to help beginners spot what’s about, and a photography hide you book separately. It opens from September to May, free of charge, with no dogs and no smoking.

VisitMalta’s listing adds useful context. It says Simar and Għadira, near Mellieħa, are the largest remaining areas of salt marsh in Malta, both designated Wetlands of International Importance, with dry and wet reed beds, pools dotted with small islands and olive groves. Among the birds to look and listen for it names moorhens and coots on the water, grey herons and little egrets on passage, shy water rails in the reeds and, with luck, kingfishers. It also mentions snakes, geckos, chameleons and rare protected fish in the pools, so there’s more to see than birds.

For me it’s the best winter outing on the whole bay. A January afternoon among reeds and pools is the complete opposite of Buġibba in August.

The hillside heritage trail

Above the bay, a heritage trail links remains from many periods. Wikipedia, the only source I’ve found on it, lists rock-cut tombs, the remains of two megalithic temples, a Bronze Age grain silo, cave dwellings, cart ruts, a Roman road and Roman apiaries. I’ve not seen an official site giving the route or its length, so I won’t invent a walking time. I’d go in closed shoes and avoid the midday heat, because the hillside gets no shade.

For more of this coast’s early history, San Pawl Milqi at Burmarrad, the Roman farm tied to the story of St Paul’s shipwreck, is close by, as is the Salina reserve at the far end of the bay. Both feature in my guide to St Paul’s Bay.

A seafront for walking

VisitMalta describes Xemxija, on the inner northern shore of St Paul’s Bay, as having grown into a holiday centre of its own, and it praises the coastal promenade that runs from St Paul’s Bay all the way round to Qawra Point, with its tower and views over Salina Bay. It calls the walk long but mostly level and easy. From the water’s edge you also look across to St Paul’s Islands, where legend says the Apostle’s ship was wrecked. I’d do a stretch of it in the early evening, when the heat goes out of the day, and the full length only if you’re a keen walker. The islands have their own page, St Paul’s Islands.

Staying in Xemxija

Choice is limited. The MTA’s official register lists just three hotels with a Xemxija address, one four-star and two three-star, all small next to the giants of Qawra. It strikes me as a sensible option if you want to be in the area without the late nights of Buġibba Square. The rest of the council’s options, with names and sizes, are set out on the hotels in Buġibba and Qawra page.

Getting around

BirdLife gives the Roti and Simar stops for the reserve, on routes 41, 42, 221, 222 and X1. Several of those head for Ċirkewwa, so the Gozo ferry is within easy reach, and the 41 and 42 also run down to Valletta by way of Mosta.