CAPTIVATED BY THE CHARMING VILLAGE OF GREYTON
This blog is
for you if you need one of those “get me off the treadmill” weekends away with
mobile phone, work deadlines and demanding children out of sight and out of
mind. If you are screaming ‘give me time
away where the pace is lanquid and soothing for my battered spirit’ and want no
more of the concrete jungle and crazy pace…oh yes…I know you are with me on
this!
With Autumn slowly
knocking on the door here in Southern Africa, it’s time to book that “getaway from it all” wintry weekend in a
quaint guesthouse surrounded by rivers, mountains and farmlands - perhaps curled
up in front of a glowing fire with a good book and glass of red wine in hand. I have found just the place for you.
Last winter we
escaped the pounding city of Joburg to a small village in the Overberg area in
the Western Cape, a peaceful little hamlet called Greyton, just an hour and
a half drive from Cape Town. It is the
perfect “get me out this crazy madhouse” weekend escape.
Greyton feels like it has
been lost in time and this is the very charm of it. With its oak lined streets, old thatched roof
cottages, donkey carts causing traffic jams in the main street, antique and
craft markets galore, a chatty parrot in every residence and rather eccentric
locals, you can’t help relaxing and getting into the rythym of village life. Many descendants of the original settlers in 1846 still live in the town
to this day and the charming essence of the village remains essentially intact with only
a few changes over the years. Water
furrows crisscross the village and traditional Cape Vernacular style cottages
sit close to the street originally built in order to leave large pieces of land
for growing fruit and vegetables behind them.
One such charming building that has survived is The Posthouse which was
built in the 1860s and since been converted into a quaint country inn.
After a scenic drive from Cape Town, the world’s
woes were slowly slipping from our shoulders but when we arrived at The
Posthouse our woes were no-where to be found. Our country inn room was so inviting (rooms
being endearingly named after Beatrix Potter characters) that it took me no time
at all to kick off my shoes, have a long soak in the ‘ball and claw’ bath and
head off to the Posthouse Pub with book in hand to find a cosy armchair by a
warm fire.
The small Posthouse Pub is
just how you would imagine a country pub to be
- and also famously used in the Bells Whiskey television advert here in
South Africa. Therefore, in this vein, a
whiskey had to start the evening off and then off to some delicious homemade
fare in the inn’s restaurant. This was
just what the doctor ordered.
Having recovered most of our equilibrium by the
next morning, we decided to do some exploring of the village and found
ourselves in time for Greyton’s famous Saturday
Morning Market - what a treat! The market
had to be the highlight of our time in Greyton and something not to be
missed. Something rather good for us
burnt out city dwellers used to queuing at the supermarket till to buy a sad ‘poison
by pesticides’ carrot or two. Here we
were amongst ‘salt of
the earth’ people who very proudly grow their own organic
food and make their own crafts. Even after our hearty breakfast at The Posthouse we still managed to find
space for deliciously hot pancakes together with very strong brewed coffee. We must have sampled goodies at every stall
of fresh local produce, chatted up a storm with all the genial local folk at the
same time as filling our arms up with 100% organic food and delightful
village-made crafts, including jars of olives, pickles, delicious smelling
loaves and all types of cheeses and salami.
I was so caught up in the moment; I nearly bought each of my boys a
thick chunky homemade jersey from the dear sweet lady knitting furiously in a
quiet corner. We were laden down as we
headed back to our “Tale of Squirrel Nutkin” room at The Posthouse to relax on
our verandah overlooking the gardens and enjoy our wares for a late lazy lunch.
With an important South African rugby game on
the tellie that evening, we were recommended to have dinner at Searle’s
Trading Post. Apart from the
promise of great country fare, they would be showing the rugby. What a fun late afternoon we had with a whole
crowd of people we had never met before – clinking glasses over every rugby try
scored - we were literally family by the end
of the afternoon! It felt really good to
be South African again. True to its
trading post theme, Searle’s provides all kinds of memorabilia for sale from
old tins and enamel kitchenware to porcelain dolls and vintage clothing. It was great fun browsing as you waited for
your meal, listening to live music and the animated chatter of people around
various fireplaces in the courtyard, ‘stoep’ and other cosy nooks and
crannies.
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| Making new friends outside Searle's... |
On our final morning we hired bikes to ride
about the village and surrounding countryside.
By this stage, we were healing nicely from the craziness of normal
life. The air
felt beautifully clean and crisp and we breathed it in deeply. For the more active, hikes and horse trails
are also on offer. However, determined
to continue in our slow leisurely pace, we certainly wouldn’t have given Chris Froome
any competition and took our time enjoying the glorious mountains and rolling
wheat fields.
Sometimes we
all need ‘time out’ and I cannot recommend the tranquil and rather special
village of Greyton more highly for
this. Think of me when you enjoy your
Beatrix Potter room at The Posthouse, a whiskey at their quaint pub (with a ‘hello,
how do you do?’ to their chatty parrot’), a dinner at Searle’s and of course…especially when you pass that dear old granny
knitting her thick chunky jerseys at the Saturday market.
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