Devil’s Claw ~ Chung Hom Kok Shan and Chung Hom Kok Battery ~ Medium

Today I went in search of the Chung Hom Kok battery but ended up face to face with the Devil 😈 or his claw literally 😁. An adventurous hike filled with loads of rock formations.

6 kilometres

Difficulty: 6/10 due to the rocky climbs and bushwhacking

Duration: 2 hours from Stanley market; approximately 6 kilometres back to Stanley plaza

How to get there: I took the number 14 bus to Stanley Village road stop. From there I got on to the Stanley waterfront promenade, passed the Murray house and Blake pier and entered Stanley Ma Hang park.

I decided to visit the Pak Tai temple first and the ancient well.

I decided to visit the washroom first before I headed to the Sha Shek Tan beach.

Solitude

I spent some time there and then I decided to head towards the Chung Hom Kok road via the sea view terrace path of the park .

I reached the Chung Hom Kok beach bus stop.

I kept walking straight and didn’t take the left towards the Cheshire home. I passed by the garbage bins and kept straight on the road.

I saw a big group and just behind them was a path going upwards with ribbons tied on branches. I decided to take that path.

I tried to overtake this group and continued climbing.

A video of the claw in the distance and the Chung Hom Kok beach.

I finally reached the Devil’s claw and devilish it did look.

The Devil’s claw
Chung Hom Kok beach in the distance
Tried a selfie with the Devil
Close up of the claw

I continued up the hill following the ribbons.

I got to see beautiful views of Ap Lei Pai and Mount Johnston ( that scary trail downhill) , ocean park and Brick hill.

I followed the ribbons and continued uphill.

As I climbed uphill, I was amazed by the beautiful rock formations. They were fantastic.

Supposed to be snoopy rock
Snoopy rock?? Looks more like a hippopotamus’ snout
Check out this rock balancing 😱

I followed the ribbons and went through Snoopy and continued on my adventure.

I saw another rock that resembled a rat’s head.

What does this resemble??

I continued towards the other set of rock formations on the trail.

This rock resembled a lioness’ head ( that’s what I felt).

Lioness’ head

I enjoyed the views from the top and I was extremely grateful to the sweet hiker who painstakingly tied ribbons everywhere for us to seamlessly follow.

I could see the trigonometric station of Chung Hom Kok Shan in the distance.

Finally reached the top and got a 360 degrees view.

Atop Chung Hom Kok Shan

Now it was time for me to go downhill. That’s always a tricky part for me.

I came across a war relic of the Chung Hom Kok Battery. It was near.

I came to a part which had a rope tied to a branch of a tree to help get down a rock. I held on to it and slid down.

I came to an observation post too and from there I could see Cheshire home. I knew a road was close by. Woohoo 🥳

I followed a concrete path, squeezed myself through a set of rocks and came to a set of steps. I followed this path all the way down till I found myself in front of the Cheshire home.

I turned left and saw the Chung Hom Kok park and continued walking down that road to my left.

This was the way to the Chung Hom Kok battery.

A bit about the battery:Chung Hom Kok Battery, one of the coastal fortifications of Hong Kong Island, was built in the 1930s by British Forces Overseas Hong Kong as a defence against the Japanese invaders during the Second World War . The battery locates at the most southern point on Chung Hom Kok Peninsula which is to the west of Stanley. When Chung Hom Kok Battery was built in the 1930s, it consisted of two gun emplacements, which were respectively equipped with a 6-inch cannon, several platforms for searchlights and shelters. The No.2 emplacement was protected by a concrete hemispherical protection for the reason that the No.1 emplacement located almost directly over the No.2 emplacement. There were also machine-gun emplacements on the hill Chung Hom Shan which occupies the largest part of the peninsula.
During the World War Ⅱ, Japanese navy landed from the north coast of Hong Kong Island and invaded through Wong Nei Chung Valley (known as Happy Valley today), thus Chung Hom Kok Battery, which located on the south coast of Hong Kong Island, lost its function. To prevent the battery from falling into the clutches of the Japanese, British soldiers damaged the battery by themselves on December 19, 1941 before surrender, and then they retreated to Stanley. Today, most of the construction of Chung Hom Kok Battery does not exist any more. Only the No.2 emplacement has been re-built as a part of Chung Hom Kok Park and one of its searchlight platforms locating on the cliff has been preserved. People nowadays like to have barbecues at the barbecue sites around the No.2 emplacement and enjoy the beautiful sea view at weekends . In 1961, Hong Kong’s first Cheshire Home was built on the site of the No.1 emplacement. ( reference http://ais2032.weebly.com/26-guo-mengfan.html)

I walked down these steps that led me to the renovated battery but a couple stood there with their drone and didn’t budge.

I continued up the steps and checked out the other structures. A car photoshoot was taking place so there were quite a few people and vehicles parked

I continued back towards Chung Hom Kok road and passed Cheshire home.

On the way I passed some structures of the battery maybe used for storage or used as bunkers during WWII.

I continued on the tiad till I reached the bus stop. I walked through the Stanley Ma hang park and walked towards Stanley Plaza. I took the number 14 bus from Stanley Plaza on Carmel road back home.

This was a fabulous hike…. devilishly delightful if I may so with many rock formations along the way.

This is not a hike for beginners as it involves rock climbing, bushwhacking and slippery slopes.

I don’t think this is a very child friendly hike. You could take your dog but you would need to be careful as the climbs can get dangerous. Better to try this hike without canine and human kids in tow.

Do follow me for more adventures on https://www.facebook.com/honkiehiker/.

Thank you 😊. Take care of yourselves and stay safe. 🤗

3 thoughts on “Devil’s Claw ~ Chung Hom Kok Shan and Chung Hom Kok Battery ~ Medium

  1. The rock you say reminded you of a lioness is Snoopy Rock. He looks like he is lying down on top of his kennel. You have an excellent picture of it.

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