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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1977.
PLOVER COVE COUNTRY PARK
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ANOTHER LARGE TRACT OF SCENIC COUNTRYSIDE PROPOSED FOR PUBLIC ENJOYMENT HAS BEEN GAZETTED FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
KNOWN AS PLOVER COVE COUNTRY PARK, IT IS THE EIGHTH COUNTRY PARK GAZETTED, FOLLOWING SHING MUN, KAM SHAN, LION ROCK, TAI TAM, ABERDEEN, AND SAI KUNG EAST AND WEST COUNTRY PARKS.
SITUATED IN THE NORTH EASTERN SECTION OF THE NEW TERRITORIES, THE PARK IS ABOUT HALF AN HOUR AWAY FROM TAI PO BY CAR AND ITS BOUNDARIES GENERALLY FOLLOW THE ROAD FROM TAI MEI TUK TO LUK KENG AND THE COASTLINE. IT COVERS AN AREA OF ABOUT 4,594 HECTARES (11,352 ACRES), INCLUDING THE WATER SURFACE OF PLOVER COVE RESERVOIR.
THE TAI MEI TUK-LUK KENG ROAD SKIRTS THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF THE PARK AND PROVIDES AN EASY ACCESS TO THE MAIN RECREATIONAL AREAS. THE BRANCH ROAD TO WU KAU TANG WILL SOON BE EXTENDED TOWARDS THE COAST AND WILL MAKE THE HEART OF THE PARK MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE.
THE PLOVER COVE COUNTRY PARK IS CHARACTERIZED BY RUGGED HILLS WITH EXTENSIVE COASTLINE THAT CONSTITUTE A VERY SCENIC - AND UNSPOILT LANDSCAPE, INTEGRATING HARMONIOUSLY WITH THE
RESERVOIR, THE NATURAL WOODLANDS, FOOTPATHS, TRAILS AND STREAMS.
THE MOST POPULAR AREA OF THE PARK IS AT BRIDE'S POOL WHICH IS ABOUT MIDWAY UP THE TAI MEI TUK-LUK KENG ROAD ON THE WESTERN BOUNDARY.
IT LIES AT THE FOOT OF A BROAD ROCK FACE WITH A PICTURESQUE WATERFALL AND TOGETHER WITH MIRROR POOL, WHICH IS DIAGONALLY OPPOSITE AND ABOUT 50 YARDS AWAY UP THE HILL, MAKES AN IDEAL PLACE FOR PICNICKERS AND CAMPERS.
BRIDE'S POOL HAS ACQUIRED ITS NAME SOME 100 YEARS AGO. ACCORDING TO LEGEND A BRIDE. WHO WAS ON HER WAY IN A SEDAN CHAIR FROM WU KAU TANG VILLAGE TO LUK KENG VILLAGE TO MEET HER GROOM, WAS SWEPT AWAY INTO THE POOL DURING HEAVY RAIN AND DROWNED. A NARROW SECTION OF THE PATH, WHICH WAS THE ONLY COUNTRY ROAD IN THOSE DAYS THAT LINKED THE VILLAGES, IS STILL THERE WINDING ACROSS THE HILLS SURROUNDING BRIDE'S POOL. MOST OF THE PATH, HOWEVER, HAVE GIVEN WAY TO A NEW ROAD BUILT IN 1969.
+BRIDE'S POOL IS ESPECIALLY POPULAR WITH CYCLISTS WHO COME BY THE THOUSANDS ON WEEKENDS,+ AN OFFICER OF THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT WHO MANAGES THE PARK SAID.
+ IN FACT, ON ANY DAY OF THE WEEK THERE ARE PICNICKERS ENJOYING THEMSELVES, UNLIKE MANY OTHER PLACES WHERE THEY GO ONLY ON WEEKENDS.+
/THE MAIN