Rediscovering our trails

Rediscovering our trails

Navigating Hong Kong over land, residents formed walking trails over centuries. The routes were determined by our mountainous topography and rugged shores with its peaks, gaps, valleys and beaches. Settlements built at cross points, along water courses and near fertile flatlands made for more recent destinations. Other trails were formed by workers who placed pylons for overhead cables and the cable car up Lantau. While the first roads followed the trails, later roads ignored them. Slope and drainage works cut off other old trails including from The Bethanie and Pokfulam Reservoir Road down to Victoria Road. Paths from the Hong Kong Trail down behind Queen Mary hospital to Pok Fu Lam Road disappeared with slope works completed last year. Our problem is that most trails have never been designated and as a result there is no reinstatement obligation.

Despite the difficulty, hikers do rediscover and explore old trails and tie ribbons around trees to help others find them. Smartphone apps such as ‘TrailWatch’ also help you find these trails. This, in part because our Survey and Mapping Office carefully marks all ground features on their maps, and because hiking apps allow users to record their routes for sharing with others.

Some ‘disappearing’ trails are not only stunning, with gorgeous vistas and spectacular rock streams, they are obvious routes people have good reason to use again. We walked down the valley from Wong Nai Chung Gap to Deep Water Bay beach. The upper entrance to the path is no longer obvious because of road works. Coming up from the beach is easier, just walk along the unpaved road left of the golf club. Together with the Mills and Chung Path along the coast, Shouson Hill residents have a circular route around their neighbourhood.  

Inside country parks trails are maintained by the AFCD, except where they want to keep hikers away from ecologically sensitive areas. Outside the parks we depend on routes maintained by the Water Services Department as part of our water catchment and reservoir system. Home Affairs Department maintains some popular trails. We are on a mission to get more trails reopened. Works is now on the way for the trail from Sassoon Road roundabout to Cyberport and Kong Sin Wan Road.

Hikers, walkers, runners, bird watchers, do help identify trails we like to see designated, reconnected, sign posted, and improved (with a light touch). How about Cape d’Aguilar down to Shek O beach? Mt. Davis to Kennedy Town? Send us your suggestions: [email protected]

(Article published in Southside Magazine - April 2019 issue)

山中本無路 惟有人先行

「地上本沒有路，走的人多了，也便成了路。」

過百年來，沿着連綿起伏的山嶺，崎嶇不平的海灣，人們與自然互相遷就，橫跨山峰、河谷、沙灘，讓郊區山徑逐漸成型；路與路的交匯之處，流水溪間的兩旁，肥沃平原周邊，成為這些山徑始終的營地據點；而負責興建架空電纜及昂坪纜車的工人，則為方便工作開托出其他道路。

起初的路沿着行人徑而建，後來的路卻把它的根完全無視。斜坡及渠務工程將原有的行山徑切斷，由伯大尼修院到薄扶林水塘道以至於域多利道，這些情況絕非一兩之事。瑪麗醫院背後，從港島徑往下至薄扶林道的行山徑，就在去年的斜坡工程後消失無蹤。問題是，這些行山徑從來也不在規劃當中，當局自然沒有責任修復及重新興建。

箇中困難無阻行山客不斷重新開拓並發掘更多舊有山徑，更在沿路的樹與樹之間繫上繩帶，協助他人找出路徑，手機應用程式「徑．香港」（TrailWatch）亦有同樣功能。這裡有一部分要歸功於我們的測繪處小心地勾畫出所有地形特徵，亦要感謝這個手機應用容許用家記錄自己的路徑並在平台上與他人分享。

一些「失蹤」的山徑不止有驚豔景色及壯麗山勢，山徑的軌跡亦相當明顯，非常適合市民遊玩。前一陣子，我們沿着黃泥涌峽往下走到深水灣泳灘，道路工程令這條山徑不再顯然易見，想更容易找到這條山徑，亦可從高球會，經左側出發一段沒有鋪設的道路由沙灘往上上走。連同橫繞海灣的一段苗鍾徑，壽山村居民實在擁有一條非常好的環形山徑。

如非因生態價值而限制山客進入，一般郊野公園的山徑皆由漁護署管理及保養。但在郊野公園外，我們則依賴由水務署管理供集水及水塘用途的路徑。民政署亦有份保養一些熱門的山徑。我們未來計劃推動重開一些不復使用的山徑，針對由沙宣道迴旋處到數碼港及鋼綫灣一段路的工作已經展開。我們希望山客、跑手及觀鳥愛好者能加入我們，協助找出改進空間，例如重新連接路徑、設計路標或輕微改善路面等。由鶴咀至石澳又如何？抑或由摩星嶺到堅城？歡迎以電郵分享你的想法：[email protected]

(立場新聞2019年3月29日連結：山中本無路ㅤ惟有人先行)