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Like many islands, Tenerife has been the subject of attack by invaders numerous times during its history and that's why the traditions of this beautiful island have been created from an unusual mix of cultures that have ruled there over previous centuries. From the original Guanche settlers to long periods of rule by the Spanish, Tenerife has been targetted by French, Dutch and even English invaders in the past.

The result of all this attacking was a series of fortifications built all around the coast of Tenerife. These various buildings were either purely for lookout purposes or actually designed for defending the island from landing forces. Even Lord Nelson tried to take the port of Santa Cruz in 1797 and lost an arm in the process.

A local museum on Tenerife has now organised a regular tour around some of these castles and fortifications which is designed for both tourists and students. The educational tour takes place each Wednesday, and on every Saturday, 50 members of the public are invited to reserve a place on the 3 hour tour starting at 11am. It will take them to places like Puerto de la Cruz on the west coast, Adeje in the south of the island and Garachico where an old castle remains largely in tact. Garachico is a place that is quite difficult to get to quickly from the rest of the island due to the steeply sloping landscape that surrounds it, so any defences at the location would have needed to be largely self-sufficient as reinforcements would have been slow to arrive.