Southeast Cheung Chau boasts paths that wind around headlands and curl up and over hillsides, passing through woodland, and near to naturally sculpted giant boulders, once grand but now ruined houses, a couple of temples, a tiny nunnery, and cliffs dropping to the sea. The main trail here is rather fancifully named the Mini Great Wall, but you can find other less known yet still fascinating paths to explore.

So this is where it all began, the launding point for the career of Hong Kong's gold medal winning Olympian, Lee Lai-shan (San San): The Cheung Chau Windsurfing Centre. Set on a tiny headland between Cheung Chau's two main beaches, the centre commands fine views of the island, and eastwards to Lamma and Hong Kong Island.

It is Thursday morning - in May 1989 - on Cheung Chau, the most populous of Hong Kong's outlying islands. Though it is only 8am, the day is already hot and humid, more like mid-summer than early May: a typhoon is brewing over the South China Sea.

There is little written history regarding Cheung Chau before the 18th century. But even early last century, some islanders said their families had settled on Cheung Chau hundreds of years ago, and we can guess something regarding the very early history based on some archaeological finds and the history of south China.

Though Cheung Chau has surely been settled - albeit not continuously - for thousands of years, it has only one well-known prehistoric site: the Bronze Age stone carving, just below the Warwick Hotel at Tung Wan. It's thought to be around 3500 years old, as the patterns carved into a granite outcrop are similar to those on pottery of similar age found in Hong Kong.

Though Cheung Chau's hotels and holiday flats are modest compared to the fancy hotels in Hong Kong city, they also offer an "away from it all" experience compared to joints in densely packed Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay and Central. You can enjoy laid-back accommodation including places with balconies overlooking the beach and the South China Sea, with Hong Kong Island away to the east, and stroll the narrow streets, with no cars around unless the little police car trundles past.

There's a path leading uphill from beside Pak Tei Temple, up past an old folks' home. Keep left, and up and up flights of steps, and you'll come to a small, concrete park. Turn right here, and you can continue uphill, leaving the village to pass through trees, with views over to Lantau Island on your left.

The path skirts a service reservoir (on hilltop, but below ground). Below, to the left, is a housing development at the bottom of a valley - evidently supposed to be like places such as Hong Lok Yuen, but seems many places not occupied.

Though Cheung Po-tsai Cave is the best known tourist spot of southwest Cheung Chau, it's not the only place that's good for exploring. There's an excellent coastal trail, winding along a small cove, and a small bay with a beach, passing boulders where cacti grow (yes, wild cactus in Hong Kong), with excellent scenery.

This trail starts on the headland above Sai Wan village, at the southern end of the harbour (aka typhoon shelter). You can head there by walking along the waterfront road - which is popular with weekend and holiday cyclists and strollers.