The Ideal Weekend Getaway: Montagu

Just a few hours out of Cape Town (two at the most) lies the charming fruit and flower filled town of Montagu. You might recognise the name from Montagu dried fruit, which is picked and packed here, or as the location that got so severely flooded last year that the bridge was washed away.

A weekend away in Montagu is guaranteed to be relaxing, beautiful and, most importantly, far from the madding crowd. There’s really only one main road to the town, and it is lined on one end with English style homes with pretty flower gardens and sweet little fences, and on the other by more South African style Karoo houses with tin roofs. There are coffee shops and interesting stops galore, and you can quite happily walk up and down the road for an hour or two.

There are also the Montagu Hot Springs, which we didn’t have the pleasure of visiting this time around (it was the middle of summer, after all) but will definitely look into for our next visit…. Imagine hanging out on a cold, crisp winter’s day in a hot spring with mountain views all around? Sounds just lovely.

We stayed on a nearby fruit farm called Keisie Cottages (there are loads in the area with small cottages to rent) and began our visit by picking fresh gooseberries, lavender and roses – simply heavenly. Depending on the season, it’s also possible to pick fruit from the trees (we just missed the plums, apricots, nectarines and peaches).

But more than the fruit and the flowers, it’s the peace and tranquillity of the area that will win you over… Still mornings, with nothing but the buzzing of bees to interrupt the silence. Epic mountain views. Wonderful hikes in nature. Montagu is the ideal weekend getaway purely because there’s nothing much to do but absorb the beauty. And relax.

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