Wan Chai Gap (Aberdeen Reservoir)

FKT: 2hrs 6mins 33secs

WAN CHAI GAP (ABERDEEN RESERVOIR)

With more loops and switchbacks than The Shining's maze, Aberdeen Country Park provides myriad route options. Just don’t go too crazy😜 This route is all about the views, taking in both south and north sides of the Island. Lots of ways to mix it up but C&P Designs™️ favour a gentle, flat start (Pantera’s calming influence vs excitable Chicken fresh out of the coop), building up to more challenging hill climbs. It doesn't always work out that way but this route is the template, comprising undulating flat trails/roads for the most part, making it one of our faster tracks.

THE RIDE 🔥

Short and sweet, weaving up the mountain to our start point halfway up Magazine Gap Road. It’s quite possible to run up to the start via Bowen Road but any chance to swap road running for a spin on the scooter works for us; roads for riding and trails for running. Ok enough of that.

START / FINISH POINT 🅿️🏪🚻

Solid base with convenience store, toilets and secluded parking for bikes and cars. When changing out of sweaty gear after a run the seclusion is always welcomed; more for the sake of others than ourselves 😜

THE RUN🍺🍺🍺

Dropping down on to Aberdeen Reservoir Road we take an early left off the tarmac into forested trails, passing some WWII remnants, including an artillery observation post and pillbox. We take a sharp right as our route joins the HK Trail in reverse.

After a short time we re-cross Aberdeen Reservoir Road, picking up the HK Trail the other side to be treated to one of the finest 5km stretches of trail running on the Island, twisting around the hillside through lush vegetation.

We drop down Peel Rise and pick up the catchwater that brings us back along the hillside to Aberdeen Country Park. Heading down some steep steps the Reservoir towers impressively above us on our left side. We drop onto some flat trail and skirt the reservoir banks before taking a left across the reservoir and back up into country park.

Expansive vistas open up of Aberdeen and then Wong Chuk Hang before we loop back towards the reservoir for the last time, picking up Aberdeen Reservoir Road for a short, steep climb before re-joining the HK Trail heading East, in it's conventional direction.

Some flattish trails give way to a sharp, twisting ascent (health warning: bit of a killer at this stage 😜), which transports us halfway up Mount Cameron, before flattening out again. The HK Trail leads us around to Blacks Link and taking a left onto and over Blacks Link, our last peak of the day provides eye-popping views of Valle Feliz and the north side of the Island, before a gentle finish downhill back to base.

TIDBITS + TAPAS 🤔

Aberdeen Reservoir dates all the way back to 1931. Officially declared a monument in 2009, it’s a mightily impressive structure and this R+R route serves up some prime views from both above and below. It sits within Aberdeen Country Park which is one of HK’s oldest country parks and an oasis of rural calm, contrasting starkly with the much photographed north side of the island. Pangolins and squirrels are known to inhabit this area but we’re yet to spot one as a new recruit 🐿️ (still no Pangolin emoji?!)