Fornells Tower, guardian of the great shelter from the Tramontana wind of Menorca

PalmThe port of Fornells, in the municipality of El Mercadal, is one of the most important on the island. Although its main uses today are fishing and recreational boating, historically it has been the main harbor for the north coast of Menorca and a significant center for salt production. Stretching four kilometers from the harbor entrance to the breakwater, it is one of the largest nautical havens on the island, second only to the port of Maó. It boasts many charms, gastronomy being one of them, but its heritage is perhaps, in our opinion, the most outstanding. Although, who can resist the temptation of trying a good caldereta (fish stew)!

From the 17th century, Fornells was a key center of the island's military defense. In 1604, a watchtower was built atop La Mola to monitor the port. Twenty years later, in 1625, the Castle of Sant Antoni, the Fornells fort, was constructed, from which the Fornells suburb and the Church of Sant Antoni (1783) would later develop. The tower on Isla de les Lagartijas (1800) and the Fornells tower were added a year later. At the end of the 19th century, underwater defenses were installed at the port entrance. Finally, during the Spanish Civil War, the fortification of Fornells Bay was completed with the construction of the La Mola coastal battery between 1936 and 1939, and the building of bunkers and machine gun nests along the seafront. The Republican defense against a possible landing on the northern slope of the island by the rebel (Francoist) troops at the beginning of the armed conflict.

In the 18th century, there were four saltworks in Menorca, all in the north of the island: La Concepció, formerly called 'Salines Noves', in Fornells; the Tirant Vell saltworks, since then called 'Ses Salines Velles', also in Fornells; the Addaia saltworks; and the Mongofra saltworks, located at the bottom of the port of Addaia. Industrial salt production continued into the 20th century. Competition with imported salt from large Spanish and foreign production areas forced the decline of the Menorcan salt industry. Of the four saltworks that existed at that time, La Concepció is the only one that is still in operation.

If you want to use public transport to get to the starting point, the Fornells Salt Flats, currently disused, lines 41 and 45 are the ones that connect to the area (you can check timetables and availability on the website). mou-tmenorca.com).

The route

[00 min] We begin our walk from the village of Salinas, facing north. We can follow the pedestrian path to the right of the road. We will pass several enclosures along the seafront, once used for agriculture and livestock, one of which still has a well with a small chapel. Further on, a whitewashed house, the Estancia de Garrafó [05 min], is about to reach the port of Fornells. To the right, at the Punta de la Cruz [10 min], we find a waterwheel on the left side of the road. All of this is our first glimpse of the most authentic landscape of the Bay of Fornells.

We continue north along the promenade by the shore of one of the most serene ports on the island. [30 min] Just past the old fortress of San Antonio (1625), whose remains lie on the seashore, we find on the left the church dedicated to the same saint (1783), a clear example of the consolidation of the old castle suburb, precisely when the castle entered a worrying decline during a period of economic hardship. From that moment on, Fornells evolved into a settled seaside town that developed around the church. A little further on, by the sea, we will see the remains of a Civil War bunker.

[45 min] At the end of the walk, a steep path begins, climbing first to the well-known Hermitage of Our Lady of Lourdes, located inside a small rocky cave, sheltered from the strong Tramontana wind. Before tackling this path, we take the trail that, above the rocky outcrop, led us to Cape Fornells by the small beacon that guides the entrance to the port from Cape Paret [1 hr 00 min]. This walk offers a wide panoramic view of the surroundings, especially Cape Cavalleria to the west, and the treacherous Escull de Tirant below. We return to the main path to the cave (Hermitage of Lourdes) and climb the final stretch to the Fornells Tower [1 hr 15 min]. It was built during the British rule of the island between 1801 and 1802. In a document from that period, it is called the Punta Tower, although it was also known as the Tirant Tower or the Enderrossall del Guix Tower. It is one of the most prominent towers on the entire island, built to control access to the port of Fornells.

We leave the tower and head west along a dirt track that skirts the cove known as 'el Naufraig de la Sola' (the Shipwreck of the Sun), a wide opening between the Fornells cape and Punta Mala. We complete the loop around this iconic peninsula in northern Menorca behind the Fornells cemetery [2 h 05 min]. A gate with an open barrier above a dry-stone wall marks the path to Cala Tirant, which should first lead us to the Guix sinkhole. Unlike the terrain we've traversed so far, a gentler, more barren area lies before us, formed by slabs of sedimentary marl. We pass through a dry stone wall and enter a beautiful cove, reached by another wall, where the gentle waters of the Escalons spring flow [2 hr 15 min]. From this point, the Tirant stream gradually rises until it reaches the Playas de Fornells residential area [2 hr 30 min]. If we continue along Carrer de Dalt, we'll go directly to the roundabout at the entrance to this coastal town. If, on the other hand, we choose to visit Cala Tirant, we simply follow the signs on the right-hand side of the road. Once we leave this urban complex behind [2 hr 45 min], a bustling spot during the summer months, we continue along the wide road that connects to the Fornells road. We do this on a lane designated for pedestrians and cyclists, on the left side of the road. Among the vegetation, towards the north wind, the stately house of Tirant Nou will appear, its imposing presence flanked by two turrets and its reddish facade. We emerge right at the entrance to the Les Salines residential area, where our walk ends [3 h 10 min].

@Fita_a_Fita