The Port Town of Algeciras

Algeciras is primarily and unashamedly a port and industrial centre, sprawling round the far side of the bay to Gibraltar. When Franco closed the border with the 'Rock' at the nearby La Linea, it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers who used to be employed in the British naval dockyards and in order to break the area's dependence on Gibraltar.

It is an industrial city that supports the large deep water container port and nearby oil refinery. In the port area there are many Moroccans in transit, particularly during July and August when migrant workers return home for their holidays from their work in France, Holland and Belgium. As a consequence, there is a strong Arab influence here with many of the signs in Arabic as well as Spanish while, in the backstreets, you can find several traditional tea shops which specialise in the traditional Moroccan mint tea. Algeciras may not be a beautiful city but it does have a gritty individuality about it and, unlike some of the Costa resorts, is a very genuine place with a real port atmosphere. There are lots of reasonably priced restaurants to try – several with terrific views of the nearby Rock of Gibraltar. Those that find the time to wander will fine quiet parks and tree lined plazas almost hidden away from the rushing travellers.

For most people, however, Algeciras is just a stopping off place, en route to Tangier and Morocco. There are about eight crossings a day (2 hrs 30 mns or 70 minutes with a fast ferry).

• Ferrys Rápidos del Sur - Highspeed Catamaran from Tarifa, Algeciras, and Gibraltar to Tangier in Morocco.

From Algeciras there are also all inclusive 1 and 2 day trips to Tangier with fast ferry services to Tangier in Morocco.

Algeciras is the place to catch the train to Ronda which is definitely one of the best journeys in Andalucia which takes you via Gaucin and past some of the most beautiful pueblos blancos (white villages) in the whole of Andalucia. These include San Roque, Castellar de la Frontera – a bizarre village within a castle, Jimena de la Frontera and a handful of tiny villages, such as Benaojan-Montejaque. There are four train departures from Algeciras a day. The Algeciras to Ronda railway journey and its history was described in the Mediterranean life magazine recently.

The proudest hotel in the city is the Hotel Reina Cristina. Kings and Queens have stayed there. So have statesmen such as Churchill and Roosevelt and film stars like Rock Hudson and Deborah Kerr. Nowadays most choose to fly over Algeciras en-route from Europe to Africa.

Bed and breakfast and self catering Apatrtments

In the countryside at nearby village of Los Barrios one can discover Monte de la Torre. A fine Edwardian house with large mature gardens and surrounded by its own 400 hectares (1000 acres) of natural cork oak forest and grazing for Retinto, the long-horned red cattle of Southern Spain.