Last weekend we decided to cycle from Worcester to McGregor. The plan was to leave the car and cycle to McGregor, sleep over for the evening and cycle back the next morning. Luckily our friend, Michel decided to join us and drove the car to McGregor and therefore we didn’t need to cycle back. Cycling there and back the next day will be totally possible but we have not cycled much recently and I think it might have been a challenge sitting on the saddle the next morning.
So we left Cape Town on the Saturday afternoon and went to stay at Reeds Country Lodge http://reedscountrylodge.co.za/ in Worcester. We booked a self catering cottage which was perfect, spotlessly clean and well thought out. There was a swimming pool, fruit orchard and chickens clucked around the lawn – all very farmlike and lovely. We had a fully equipped kitchen in our cottage and had a braai on the terrace for dinner.
The next morning Mike and I set off on our adventure, armed with water, a sandwich and fruit bar. The early morning cycle was beautiful, the start was framed by vineyards and mountains. We cycled past the Amathunzi Private Nature Reserve and we saw an eland, some zebra, a fox and a goshawk. We passed a small village with everyone dressed up in their Sunday best heading for church. We had our sandwich on the banks of a river with a name I am unable to repeat – I think that is why all the villagers have to go to church… The last two hours were less idyllic – on a tar road, uphill, with cars racing by.
When we finally reached McGreggor we were disappointed to find that the accommodation we booked was in the furthest corner of the village. But the Green Gables Country Inn http://www.greengablescountryinn.co.za/ was well worth the peddle. Jill the owner met us on arrival and her larger then life personality set the tone for a fantastic stay. The accommodation was lovely, very shabby chic, country style. The grounds are beautiful and there is a swimming pool, an old mill and you can walk to the lake where there are amazing views of the whole village and the mountains. We had lunch at a restaurant in the village and then spent a lazy afternoon reading Country Life and Getaway magazines. We went to watch a spectacular sunset on the terrace of the Inn after helping ourselves to wine and beer in the bar, you just write it up as you consume. Before dinner we chatted with the locals in the bar and then sat down to homemade lamb pie and a cream dessert made by Tiger, Jill’s husband.
The next morning we went for a walk and then had breakfast, beautifully laid out on the terrace.
McGregor was originally called Lady Grey and established in 1861. It is an easy drive from Cape Town, approximately 170km’s from Camps Bay. I can recommend staying at the quirky Green Gables Country Inn. You can go wine tasting, visit Robertson (do more wine tasting), visit Vrolikheid Nature Reserve, go mountain biking, hike to Greyton (5 hours one way) or just enjoy the laid back village life.
