Devil’s Peak

 

Lei Yue Mun Battery & Fort

It’s considered that even though the present fort and battery (also called Gough Battery) is due to British Colonial command of Hong-Kong, the place on Devil’s Peak (due to its useful type of sight in the eastern harbour approaches) meant this was also a well-known lookout stage for neighborhood pirates. However, it wasn’t till the British began to consolidate their position in Hong-Kong, and prepare for potential incursions from the Russians and French, that sound defences were constructed here. Farther down the hill in a single ridge is two outdated ring-shaped batteries that utilized to house large firearms capable of fire at sea. Sadly after the time really did come to man finished, throughout the Japanese invasion in 1941, the peril came over land from the north and the firing angles of the firearms didn’t supply suitable cover. If we visited it was being swarmed by sets of children with pellet guns enjoying war games (they even had their black ski masks for safety) despite there being several indicators prohibiting it – still only a little bit of harmless fun as long as a passerby doesn’t get 1 while in the eye.

The garrison was finished in 1914 and it is pretty undamaged despite being open for the elements and probably taking a bit of a hammering from the Japanese in their invasion in 1941.

The view from here’s fairly astonishing. It’s a short but fairly arduous climb that will allow you to get sweaty and out of breath nevertheless, the views from the top are remarkable – particularly on an obvious day. The panorama essentially 360deg, seeking south you’ll be able to view HK Island across the strait (this is, in addition, the shortest point involving the island along with the mainland peninsula), to the east (nicely south east) you are able to look over Junk bay towards Tung Lung Jau, and exactly what used to be Junk Island before it was encapsulated by ample reclamation – it’s nonetheless there, but it’s just no longer an isle!!! West sees you considering the aged Kai Tak runway and Hung Hom at the same time as North Point to the island, and North sees the Chinese permanent cemetary and different parts of Sai Kung (on a clear day which is).

The trail that leads along the ridgeline from here is part of the Wilson Trail and it is actually where the trail picks up on the Kowloon phase of the harbour.