Bowen Road Fitness Trail


The Bowen Road trail is popular and infamous. Thanks to a psychopath, or likely more than one of them, leaving poison and killing family pets, I have not really visited Bowen Road in the years since SB and I adopted Tippytoes and Elsie. Today SB took the little weasels to splash in the stream so I took the opportunity to revisit the urban trail. I walked out of Happy Valley and steamed my way on hot pavement along Kennedy Road to Bowen Drive, which is opposite a Sinopec station. The incline up Bowen drive will get your heart rate going. If you want to get the full 4k Bowen Trail experience, you would walk slightly further down to Kennedy Road and up Borrett Road.



You can gauge your incline by comparing the floors on the adjacent buildings as you climb. 


Just when you start wondering how much further, the trail entrance comes into view. There is a park next to the trail. Along the trail are stops with fitness equipment for people who want to do circuits. There are also areas with seating for the more sedately paced users. At the halfway point of the trail at Wanchai Gap is another park and playground area, as well as toilets. A bit further down is a tennis court. It's really a great amenity for all types of residents to use and it's such a shame about the dog poisoners.


The trail begins



I like that the trail offers the feeling of being up in the trees while winding among buildings and civilization. It's different feeling than a country park, where you are more immersed in the natural environment. It is around 3.25km to go from entrance to entrance, plus another 0.75km to follow Bowen Road to it's termination point.

The view looking at Wanchai 

Toward Causeway Bay

the Opus by Frank Gehry


The park within the trail


Wanchai Gap

A playground and tennis court appear in a surprising location


Lover's Rock is a place where women can pray for partnership or fertility. The steps leading up to the rock have several landings with offerings from believers, or at least hopers. At the top of the stairs where the rock is located, you can have nearly panoramic views of Hong Kong. I didn't take pictures because there was a woman who seemed to be seriously praying at the top and I didn't want to interrupt her. So go have a look for yourself. If you want the full on experience, wait for the scorchingly hot seventh day of the seventh moon of the Chinese calendar (in August) for the Maiden's Festival, when the shrine is most frequently visited.




One of the fitness exercise stops along the way

The trail winds in and out of neighborhoods

Wong Nai Chung gap in the distance



A peek at Happy Valley

The old boundary marker when Hong Kong was a smaller, contained city


Upper Happy Valley and near completion


The Eastern entrance to the trail


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