Wilson Trail

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Wilson Trail
Length81 kilometres (50 miles)[citation needed]
LocationHong-Kong
UseHiking
Elevation
Elevation gain/loss5,407 m (17,740 ft)

Wilson Trail
Wilson Trail Stage One 1.jpg
Wilson Trail memorial monument along stage 1 on .
Traditional Chinese衛奕信徑
Simplified Chinese卫奕信径
A Wilson Trail road sign near O King Road on stage 3 of the trail.
A road sign showing "Wilson Trail" along stage 3 of the trail on Lei Yue Mun Road.
Wilson Trail, Section 7, rhesus macaques atop a Wilson Trail memorial monument
"Wilson Trail" memorial monument located at Nam Chung in stage 10 of the trail.

The Wilson Trail (Chinese: 衛奕信徑) is a 78-kilometre (48 mi) long-distance footpath in Hong Kong, 63 km of which runs through Hong Kong country parks.[1] It was named after David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, who was Governor of Hong Kong from 1987 to 1992. The Wilson Trail was developed by and sponsored by various private organisations. The construction work of the trail began in 1994. The Wilson Trail was first opened on 21 January 1996.

In all, the Wilson Trail traverses eight of the Country Parks. On Hong Kong Island, Tai Tam Country Park and its Quarry Bay Extension begin the journey. Across the harbour, there is a gap where the trail runs through hills outside the parks. Then come the three parks named Ma On Shan, Lion Rock, and Kam Shan. In the central New Territories, the Wilson Trail heads north through Shing Mun Country Park and Tai Mo Shan Country Park. Finally it climbs into the majestic Pat Sin Leng Country Park. Each of the Country Parks the Wilson Trail traverses has its individual character and appeal – offering, as one proceeds from south to north, changing settings with much of interest.[1]

The trail is aligned north-south and runs from Stanley, in the south of Hong Kong Island to Nam Chung, in the northeastern New Territories. Of the four long-distance trails, the Wilson Trail is the newest. Since the trail crosses Victoria Harbour, it makes use of the MTR or buses.

Stages[]

The Wilson Trail is divided into ten stages:[1] and is marked by distance posts W001 – W138. Although the other major Hong Kong trails measure distance posts every 500m, the distances between posts on the Wilson Trail range from 500m – 650m.

Stage Route Length (km) Time (hr) Difficulty
1 StanleyWong Nai Chung Gap 4.8 2.0 3/3 stars
2 Wong Nai Chung GapLam Tin 6.6 2.5 2/3 stars
3 Lam TinTseng Lan Shue 9.3 4.0 2/3 stars
4 Tseng Lan ShueSha Tin Au 8.0 3.0 3/3 stars
5 Sha Tin AuTai Po Road 7.4 2.5 1/3 stars
6 Tai Po RoadShing Mun Reservoir 5.3 2.5 2/3 stars
7 Shing Mun ReservoirYuen Tun Ha 10.2 4.0 1/3 stars
8 Yuen Tun HaKowloon Hang Shan 9.0 4.0 3/3 stars
9 Kowloon Hang ShanPat Sin Leng 10.6 4.5 3/3 stars
10 Pat Sin LengNam Chung 6.8 2.0 2/3 stars

1/3 stars Easy Walk
2/3 stars Fairly Difficult
3/3 stars Very Difficult

Errors[]

Wilson Trail is one of the newest long-distance trails in Hong Kong. However, many hikers find the sign posts are unclear and full of errors. One of the most significant problems is that there are only 137 distance posts along the 78 km trail. They are supposed to be at 500 meter intervals. There are also complaints that some signs are missing or misplaced. However, the situation has improved in the recent years.[citation needed]

Raleigh Challenge[]

Raleigh International's "Raleigh Challenge - Wilson Trail" is the first hiking competition which covered the longest distance of the Wilson Trail, spanning across the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories from south to north.[2]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 22°15′00″N 114°11′55″E / 22.250062°N 114.198498°E / 22.250062; 114.198498

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