They may be harder to reach, but Alan Deidun holds the map to Gozo’s more inaccessible beaches. Next time you go swimming in the sister island, avoid the obvious and follow his directions to discover a coastline of secluded cobbles, sand dunes and redness.

How to get there: Proceed by car beyond Xwejni Beach (of The Rook disco fame) for about 500 to 1,000 metres, park your car and descend the cliffs on foot. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

Għasri Valley meanders northwards from the village down to the sea and assumes a gorge-like conformation, flanked by steep walls along its lower reaches, which are eventually flooded by seawater and support a secluded cobble and pebble beach.

Storm waves are funnelled through the gorge in winter in a tumbling fashion, such that the crashing noise reverberates around the normally peaceful surroundings

A flight of steps, etched into the cliff face, had given the beach, virtually unknown to many visitors from Malta, an iota of accessibility. Storm waves are funnelled through the gorge in winter in a tumbling fashion, such that the crashing noise reverberates around the normally peaceful surroundings.

An intriguing story, probably embellished over the years, recounts the antics of a rich Gozitan, hailing from Żebbuġ, known as Stiefnu l-Arloġġier (Stephen the clockmaker) and his resolve to scrape salt pans out of the coastline, stretching between Wied l-Għasri and Xwejni.

Having meticulously studied the submerged morphology just off Għar ir-Riħ (literally, the wind’s cave), just a stone’s throw away from Wied l-Għasri, he decided to excavate a blowhole in the ceiling of the cave such that storm waves would surge through it, geyser-style, and deposit seawater onto the surrounding salt pans.

The spouting sea fountain must have been quite a site; it is immortalised in an engraving in 1785 by J. Houel, titled Voyage pittoresque des isles de Sicile, de Malte et de Lipari (Paris).

The geyser was short-lived, however, since the dispersion of salt-laden water onto the surrounding fields was not exactly appreciated by farmers, who duly blocked the entrance of the sea through the impromptu blowhole with a number of rocks.

How to get there: It is accessible through a challenging road to the left of Rexy Restaurant in Għajnsielem. If you do not want to damage your car, you can walk about one kilometre from there down to the sea through the side streets to the left of Rexy.

Xatt l-Aħmar literally stands for the ‘red coastline’, an appellation it gained from the bright red colour of its sands. After descending the treacherous road from Għajsielem, one is regaled with two miniscule beaches, lying on opposite sides of a narrow limestone isthmus, protruding into the sea and supporting a huddle of fishermen’s hideouts.

The stark contrast between the two beaches is such that Xatt l-Aħmar is Janus-faced: one beach faces Mġarr Harbour and is continuously pummelled by the brisk currents and waves within the channel, while the other littoral end is much more languid and tranquil, such that accumulations of seagrass debris (known as banquettes) are left undisturbed to accumulate over the seasons and reach heights in excess of two metres.

The remoteness of the beaches at Xatt l-Aħmar, previously haunted almost exclusively by troupes of youngsters, led by their MUSEUM minders, translates into almost peerless ecological importance. For instance, a particular sand dune plant, the cottonweed (santolina), thought to be extinct in the Maltese Islands, was re-discovered some 10 years back by Timothy Tabone at Xatt l-Aħmar.

The imposing Chambray fortress, perched over the friable blue clay cliffs, overlooks Xatt l-Aħmar and acts as the perfect backdrop for that evocative photo. The tip of the isthmus still supports salt pans, whose meagre salt yield is still harvested by an old man of steely resolve. He recounts how he used to negotiate his way up the clay slopes with his horde aboard a mule, before the elements eroded them, rendering the passage even more challenging. Nowadays, he crosses over to Xatt l-Aħmar for the bounty of salt aboard a weathered, old boat.

How to get there: Stop at the car park, located a few hundred metres above the beach, which is signposted from Nadur, and descend along the road.

San Blas is a reflection in microcosm of Ramla l-Ħamra in that it is also endowed with red-hued sand, although it is enshrined in a much greater degree of remoteness.

In fact, although still falling within the precincts of Nadur, there is no direct vehicular access to San Blas, which is only accessible on foot down a very steep descent.

The beach is named after Cardinal Blaise, still venerated within the Catholic Church. A martyr, tortured by means of iron carding combs before being beheaded in Sebastes (modern-day Sivas in Turkey), St Blaise is also the patron saint for wool combers and is believed to intercede in cases of throat illnesses.

The valley meandering down to the beach at San Blas is blanketed in citrus orchards, parcelled like patchwork through a series of cane fences, woven together from reeds, which grow so profusely along watercourses.

The beach at San Blas is isolated from Daħlet Qorrot, a popular inlet further to the southeast, by the jagged and indomitable boulders, known as Mistra Rocks. The recently-restored Ta’ Isopu watchtower, built in 1667 and perched above these boulders, witnessed an epic battle on June 10, 1798, between the French revolutionary troops, led by Napoleon Bonaparte himself, and the spirited garrison, stationed at the tower, which put up a stolid defence of the coast. Eventually, the French, who landed at Daħlet Qorrot, stormed the tower.

The winter of 1988 will be stamped indelibly in the history of San Blas as one of the darkest hours for the beach. Gargantuan waves carried away most of its sand surface and the well-established sand dune, which is only slowly recovering to its former glory.