1. The History
The first of three reports from the large former military area on the north-east coastline of Hong Kong Island. This small swimming pool will have provided both training and recreational facilities for the garrison at the nearby Lei Yue Mun/Lyemun Barracks, to the south-west. The barracks housed the Depot and Record Office of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps between 1948 and 1986.
Painted in green and white and designated “Block 1”, signage from the baths suggests that they were regularly frequented by the Gurkhas who were billeted in the area at both the aforementioned Lei Yue Mon barracks and at Pak Sha Wan barracks, and served as the main defence force in Hong Kong from 1948 until its return to Chinese rule in 1997. The baths consisted of a single pool (now filled in), two hot tubs (also filled in) and a long adjacent single-storey building split into four or five separate rooms, where the pumping apparatus and changing rooms were located.
The date of construction of the baths is hard to pin down precisely, but it is likely to have been just after World Word II, with it appearing on maps for the first time in 1952, along with its approach road from the south-west. In terms of when the pool was closed, it was still open in 1982 (see aerial picture below):
However, five year’s later, a map from 1987 shows its access road to have been cut off by the newly constructed Route 4. This would also tally with the barracks being decommissioned and handed back to the HK Government in 1987. A later picture from 1993 shows the pool to be in a state of abandonment. The barracks were subsequently converted into the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village.
2. The Explore
@drhowser never disappoints, and so it proved when he took me off exploring on this hot HK Autumn day. Having hiked along Route 4 past the Hong Kong Coastal Defence museum (which, ironically, I’m still yet to visit!) and earlier visited Pak Sha Wan barracks and battery, this was the second stop on a successful morning. We climbed up to the lido in its fantastically secluded place. The fact that few people seem to know about it means it is wonderfully graffiti-free. The pool has been filled in but the buildings remain in decent enough condition. There’s some great little touches like the mushroom style picnic tables and the old signage which made this a really enjoyable and relaxed explore.
3. The Pictures
The first of many signs!
Although the pool has been filled in, these latterly added chrome steps have been left in situ:
Loving the concrete picnic tables:
And pre/post-swim showers:
The first room is where the pumping equipment was housed:
This room is completely empty:
As is the next one:
Although the sign is cool:
This has a little more left in:
A quick peek out back:
And on to the last room:
Good-bye little lido:
The first of three reports from the large former military area on the north-east coastline of Hong Kong Island. This small swimming pool will have provided both training and recreational facilities for the garrison at the nearby Lei Yue Mun/Lyemun Barracks, to the south-west. The barracks housed the Depot and Record Office of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps between 1948 and 1986.
Painted in green and white and designated “Block 1”, signage from the baths suggests that they were regularly frequented by the Gurkhas who were billeted in the area at both the aforementioned Lei Yue Mon barracks and at Pak Sha Wan barracks, and served as the main defence force in Hong Kong from 1948 until its return to Chinese rule in 1997. The baths consisted of a single pool (now filled in), two hot tubs (also filled in) and a long adjacent single-storey building split into four or five separate rooms, where the pumping apparatus and changing rooms were located.
The date of construction of the baths is hard to pin down precisely, but it is likely to have been just after World Word II, with it appearing on maps for the first time in 1952, along with its approach road from the south-west. In terms of when the pool was closed, it was still open in 1982 (see aerial picture below):
However, five year’s later, a map from 1987 shows its access road to have been cut off by the newly constructed Route 4. This would also tally with the barracks being decommissioned and handed back to the HK Government in 1987. A later picture from 1993 shows the pool to be in a state of abandonment. The barracks were subsequently converted into the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village.
2. The Explore
@drhowser never disappoints, and so it proved when he took me off exploring on this hot HK Autumn day. Having hiked along Route 4 past the Hong Kong Coastal Defence museum (which, ironically, I’m still yet to visit!) and earlier visited Pak Sha Wan barracks and battery, this was the second stop on a successful morning. We climbed up to the lido in its fantastically secluded place. The fact that few people seem to know about it means it is wonderfully graffiti-free. The pool has been filled in but the buildings remain in decent enough condition. There’s some great little touches like the mushroom style picnic tables and the old signage which made this a really enjoyable and relaxed explore.
3. The Pictures
The first of many signs!
Although the pool has been filled in, these latterly added chrome steps have been left in situ:
Loving the concrete picnic tables:
And pre/post-swim showers:
The first room is where the pumping equipment was housed:
This room is completely empty:
As is the next one:
Although the sign is cool:
This has a little more left in:
A quick peek out back:
And on to the last room:
Good-bye little lido:
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