1. The History
RAF Tai Mo Shan Radio Station is a former British Army facility located in the New Territories, on the territory’s highest peak, at 957m. As the crow flies, it’s about 4 miles from the centre of Kowloon, but via the snaking road up to the summit, through the mists, four times that distance at 16 miles. It affords panoramic views of the Northern and Western New Territories, Yuen Long and Pat Heung plains, Shekou, and over to Shenzhen in mainland China. The construction of the new FPS6 and FPS8 Radar Units in 1958 was part of a project code name ‘Cabbage Leaf’. It was overseen and rolled out by the No.2 Fitting Party from the Radio Engineering Unit, RAF Henlow, assisted by the Signals Centre Hong Kong and 117 Signals Unit, Mount Davis.
The Project Cabbage Leaf buildings were abandoned prior to the 1997 handover to China, as British forces relinquished their control of the territories. The summit of Tai Mo Shan is no longer accessible to visitors, as it is now occupied by a Hong Kong Observatory weather radar station, and from July 2014 onwards, plays host to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), who use the facility for communication installations for various organisations, including ones for defence purposes. However, the Operations and Office block and its compound over the hill and down from the main facility remain in an abandoned state of dereliction.
2. The Explore
This place has been on my radar for some time (bum, tish!). The track up there is good, however, the main issue is that it’s located at the top of the highest peak in HK as mentioned earlier. Using public transport to get as close as possible, it was still a stiff five-and-a-half kilometre up-hill walk to get there. That’s a hard slog in the humidity of the Hong Kong Summer and takes about one-hour forty-five minutes.
Having taken the bus up from nearby Tsuen Wan, I set off, suitably loaded up with water, hat, sun cream and insect replant. From the main road, following the Maclehose Trail you first come to the Tai Mo Shan Park Visitors centre. You then follow the winding service road that runs up to the radar station at the peak. Having reached the bit the HK Weather Station and PLA now occupy, which are both out-of-bounds, the road then hangs to the right and goes downhill for half-a-kilometre down to the abandoned lower station below.
Having arrived, it was an easy-in into the compound and the block itself is wide open. I had the place to myself and the views from up here (when it's clear) are pretty amazing. The block is one-storey in the main but has a small second storey floor. After a good look round, it was time to turn around and head back down as the cloud line started to drop and visibility deteriorate. It was slightly faster going back down hill but, typically, I still managed to miss the once-per-hour return bus to Tsuen Wan by 5 minutes! A few days later I saw this very sad story HERE which happened shorty after I'd been up there on the trail.
3. The Photos
First signs of RAF Tai Mo Shan:
After a slog up the track the weather station at the peak appears:
Then, at last, we arrive!
Here’s our main quarry:
Here’s R2!
And R3:
Some nice cat graff on this one:
Down we go:
Looking back up the path down:
And we’re here:
Outside is pretty monolithic:
The two smaller out buildings first.
This one is empty but looks like a standard set house where the emergency generator would be housed:
And the second small room:
On to the main building:
This room is packed full of electrical machinery:
RAF Tai Mo Shan Radio Station is a former British Army facility located in the New Territories, on the territory’s highest peak, at 957m. As the crow flies, it’s about 4 miles from the centre of Kowloon, but via the snaking road up to the summit, through the mists, four times that distance at 16 miles. It affords panoramic views of the Northern and Western New Territories, Yuen Long and Pat Heung plains, Shekou, and over to Shenzhen in mainland China. The construction of the new FPS6 and FPS8 Radar Units in 1958 was part of a project code name ‘Cabbage Leaf’. It was overseen and rolled out by the No.2 Fitting Party from the Radio Engineering Unit, RAF Henlow, assisted by the Signals Centre Hong Kong and 117 Signals Unit, Mount Davis.
The Project Cabbage Leaf buildings were abandoned prior to the 1997 handover to China, as British forces relinquished their control of the territories. The summit of Tai Mo Shan is no longer accessible to visitors, as it is now occupied by a Hong Kong Observatory weather radar station, and from July 2014 onwards, plays host to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), who use the facility for communication installations for various organisations, including ones for defence purposes. However, the Operations and Office block and its compound over the hill and down from the main facility remain in an abandoned state of dereliction.
2. The Explore
This place has been on my radar for some time (bum, tish!). The track up there is good, however, the main issue is that it’s located at the top of the highest peak in HK as mentioned earlier. Using public transport to get as close as possible, it was still a stiff five-and-a-half kilometre up-hill walk to get there. That’s a hard slog in the humidity of the Hong Kong Summer and takes about one-hour forty-five minutes.
Having taken the bus up from nearby Tsuen Wan, I set off, suitably loaded up with water, hat, sun cream and insect replant. From the main road, following the Maclehose Trail you first come to the Tai Mo Shan Park Visitors centre. You then follow the winding service road that runs up to the radar station at the peak. Having reached the bit the HK Weather Station and PLA now occupy, which are both out-of-bounds, the road then hangs to the right and goes downhill for half-a-kilometre down to the abandoned lower station below.
Having arrived, it was an easy-in into the compound and the block itself is wide open. I had the place to myself and the views from up here (when it's clear) are pretty amazing. The block is one-storey in the main but has a small second storey floor. After a good look round, it was time to turn around and head back down as the cloud line started to drop and visibility deteriorate. It was slightly faster going back down hill but, typically, I still managed to miss the once-per-hour return bus to Tsuen Wan by 5 minutes! A few days later I saw this very sad story HERE which happened shorty after I'd been up there on the trail.
3. The Photos
First signs of RAF Tai Mo Shan:
After a slog up the track the weather station at the peak appears:
Then, at last, we arrive!
Here’s our main quarry:
Here’s R2!
And R3:
Some nice cat graff on this one:
Down we go:
Looking back up the path down:
And we’re here:
Outside is pretty monolithic:
The two smaller out buildings first.
This one is empty but looks like a standard set house where the emergency generator would be housed:
And the second small room:
On to the main building:
This room is packed full of electrical machinery:
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