My normal route design tries to include most of the best that areas offer. Obviously, that leaves out some of the possibilities. MacRitchie is ‘covered’ by the big green bob at the heart of the little red dot. This time round the objective was to figure out how much trail possibility the reservoir area actually offers. Continue reading
Jurong looms large in the Singapore story, and rightly so. In many ways this is where the from rags to riches turn around happened. Having said that, the industrial heartland also has an ulu image and although it figures prominently in URA’s new draft master plan for the future, in the here and now it is a bit off the radar of all who don’t live here. Continue reading
My general aim with the routes I post is to show their sections connected in ways that allow you to design your own route. The individual descriptions provide you with sufficient info about what each section has to offer in terms of sights, diversity, facilities, etc. That info in combination with your preference for route length, and start/end points that suit you, are the building blocks I offer for that personal route design. But none of my routes on their own can show you all the options. A very obvious indicator of that is that some routes literally connect at a particular place like an MRT station (e.g. the various routes meeting at Raffles Place mrt). But even beyond that, routes often have sections that are in close proximity and could be connected in other ways than I suggest and different routes could easily be connected at places where they run close to each other. The aim of the below master map of routes is to help you be creative with exploring all these possibilities for your own route design.
This route tries to make the most of the central catchment/Bukit Timah nature reserves and their buffers. It doesn’t try to cover everything, ignoring the rail corridor on the West (which in future deserves a route description of its own), and various ‘stand alone’ parks in the East (see my thoughts on the need for unimpeded connectivity here). This green blob is Singapore’s trailrunning epicentre. It dwarfs the other two designated nature reserves in size. My aim was to design a route without too much retracing your steps over the same section, and to include some segments that are either less-known or at least less used by runners. Not all is trails, but that a 70k green circuit like this in Singapore is possible at all is amazing. Continue reading
This short extension follows some very faint, unmaintained, partially overgrown and steep trails, and in wet conditions is certainly a real challenge. It visits two ‘forgotten’ sites (three if you your really determined) on the South-face of Mount Faber, and takes a dead-end road back up connecting to the final section of the Southwestern coastal route.
When thinking about a running route, especially in an urbvan habitat, it is necessary to keep in mind that days of the week and times of day can matter a lot for what to expect on particular parts of the route. Continue reading
Trails are strongly asssociated with natural environments. Sure. Makes sense. In the same way that associating runs that include lots of ups and downs, pos/neg altitude meters, with mountains make sense. Problem though with these natural affinities is that they tend to blind us to the ups and downs and the trails elsewhere. I’ve ranted about the urban possibilities to make altitude meters already (here and here) so let’s focus this post on the urban trail possibilities. Continue reading
he Southern ridges are one of Singapore’s top-most walking and running destinations, rightly praised for their great views. Descriptions normally limit themselves to the straight-forward ridge route from Mt Faber to Kent ridge park. Sometimes the add-on of Labrador park and the Keppel Bay seashore is mentioned. But the Southwestern coastal area has more to offer, with additional extension and connection possibilities, all adding considerably to the other highlight of this popular running destination: its diversity. Continue reading
Pedestrian Singapore 