Welcome to the Southern Ridges! The Ridges are a series of seven connected hill and coastal parks that span the length of Singapore’s south-western coastline. The full length of the hike from end-to-end is about 9 kilometres or about 3 – 5 hours walking time. Beginning with a hike up to Mount Faber Park, the path winds through Telok Blangah Hill Park before either turning south to Labrador Park via the Alexandra Floral Trail and Berlayer Creek Boardwalk, or continuing west to HortPark. After that, the route rises to cut across Kent Ridge Park and NUS Kent Ridge Campus before descending through Clementi Woods to West Coast Park.
The Southern Ridges can be traversed on foot or on bike, and are suitable for all ages and abilities. These parks feature both natural and urban beauty spots – ranging from serene forest walks through regenerating secondary forests to unique architectural gems. Most sections of the Southern Ridges are open 24 hours every day, except for HortPark which is open from 6 am – 11 pm daily.
This series of caches will highlight the various attractions you can find along the ridges, and help you learn more about these places and locales. Bring your family and camera along, and enjoy the hike through a scenic park of the island. We hope you will enjoy the walk as much as we did!
Stage 3.5: Danish Seaman's Church
A bonus cache which is a short detour off the main Southern Ridges Trail. It was a place that cried out for a cache, so we couldn't resist but put one here.
The Golden Bell Mansion is an unusual styled home was designed by the well known architect Wee Moh Teck. It was built in 1909 and completed in 1910. It was built for the successful businessman and philanthropist Tan Boo Liat. The building is a mix of styles: Colonial, Chinese and Thai, with red brickwork and white plaster, known as blood and bandages. It also has a tower supposedly to depict a Thai Stupa, said to honour Tan Boo Liat's friendship with the King of Siam (Thailand). The Golden Bell Mansion is named after after Tan Boo Liat's grandfather. Tan Kim Ching, whose name translates to "golden bell". The building is found on what was known as Mount Washington, but now a part of Mount Faber. It had 2 bedrooms, a billiard room, smoking room and a dining room.
Today, it's home to the Danish Seaman's Church in Singapore and the Danish Seaman's Mission. Founded in 1984, this is a non-profit making organization functioning as a base for traveling Danes, giving support, both practical and spiritual.
The cache is placed a respectable distance from the church, on a sign for a tree that seems to be crying out for a cache, too. Once you have found the cache, you can continue on towards the Henderson Waves.