Taiwo to San Tsuen via Lin Au

Introduction

Many of the routes mentioned in Stewart Goes Walkies begin at the Taiwo MTR station. One such route is Taiwo to Lam Tsuen. It is a short but strenuous hike. It takes you over the summit of She Shan before continuing down a steep, wooded footpath into the Lam Tsuen valley. 

Today’s route starts from the same place.

Getting to the Start

Take the MTR to Taiwo, take Exit A, walk out into Taiwo Plaza and turn left towards the glass doors at the end. There is a 7/11 on the right as you exit the building if you need to buy water or munchies but please remember the Stewart Goes Walkies reminder about plastics.

What to Bring

You’ll need water because once you leave Taiwo there are no shops until you arrive at the Kwan Yick Store in San Tsuen. Good footwear is essential and I never leave home without my trusty trekking poles. Please see the ‘Equipment Used’ section at the end of the article.

The Route

 

The first part of the route is familiar. From the Taiwo MTR station, we follow the path across Kam Wo Bridge through Kam Shek New Village onto Shek Lin Road. We then follow Shek Lin Road up to Lin Au. It is here that we branch off onto the trail.

 

 

Reaching Lin Au

And continuing on through the village

 

The path bears to the left and continues on through the trees to the right of the house.

And continues through the trees to a stream which is used by the villagers for their laundry. We crossed over and looked back at one of the ladies.

Once across the stream we followed the concrete footpath, and this is where we went wrong. So happy to continue along the concrete path we missed the stoney path leading off, and up, to the right.

It was such an inviting path we followed it happily for a few moments before realising our error and doubling back the way we had come.

 

 

Then we came to the junction and followed the path downwards to the right.

 

And on downwards towards Sheung Tin Liu Ha

Down we went underneath a green canopy and as we descended the silence became complete.

 

 

Sheung Tin Liu Ha to San Tsuen

Having arrived at the foot of the hill and Sheung Tin Liu Ha we made short work of the walk through to San Tong and the Kwan Yick Store in San Tsuen, and some well-deserved refreshments.

 

And our destination – the Kwan Yick Store on Lam Kam Road.

 

Conclusions

This is a route that I had been planning to do for several months. Was it worth it? Absolutely.  Would I attempt it on my own? Absolutely not.

Although I have spoken to people who have done it solo. The latter part of the route down the mountain was along a path that consisted mostly of stones and tree routes. A badly twisted (or worse) ankle would be an easy matter.

Having said that, it was great fun and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Getting home is a simple matter of walking out on to Lam Kam Road and getting either the 64K KMB bus or 25K Green minibus.

Equipment Used

Stewart Goes Walkies does NOT receive discounts or other benefits from the manufacturers or vendors of the gear listed below. We mention them here because we have found that they work for us.

Foot Wear: Salomon XA Pro 3D – Comfortable and easy to adjust.

Head Wear: Ciele Athletics – In rescue orange. Kept the sun, and the low-lying branches off my delicate pate.

Back Pack: Osprey Hikelite 26 with a 2 Ltr Bladder. The carrying system is very comfortable but the bag itself is not as conveniently organised as the Camelbak Mule.

Vapur Reusable Bottle: We use the 0.7 Ltr bottle for electrolyte drinks. They are convenient to use, clean and store after use.

Trekking Poles: I use a set of Columbia Aluminum trekking poles. Convenient to use but MAKE SURE the spin locks are secure. Especially when going down hill.

Cameras: I used a GoPro Hero 9 Black. GoPros are designed primarily for video recording and not for photos. Any shortcomings in the photos are the fault of the user and not the equipment. James used his iPhone 12 for his photo contributions.

Thank you for visiting stewartgoeswalkies. I hope you enjoyed this post. Please feel free to leave a comment and, if you would like us to publish an adventure of yours, you can send it to stewartgoeswalkies@gmail.com

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