We
arrived in Knysna on Tuesday morning and went straight to Belvidere Manor where
owners Sue and Mike Mills had invited us to stay. We had a lovely well
decorated and comfortable house, with a lounge with a log fire, two bedrooms
and two bathrooms. The kitchen is fully equipped and we were delighted to
discover that we had heated blankets on the beds as the night temperatures here
have fallen as low as 1 degree C. There was also a heater. Not only a place for
high summer, as exploring this wonderful area year round can be a delight.
Cycling and walking are very popular. Fishing, canoeing, boating, all from
their own jetty too. We had a lovely lunch from their pub, The Bell sitting on
the terrace outside the historic Manor house which dates back to 1834. We also
had two marvellous breakfasts and the staff are terrific, especially tall,
amusing Jeffrey, who acted as a tour guide around the estate as well. He has
been on the estate longer than the Mills’
Belvidere Manor House, c. 1834, is now
the reception, breakfast area kitchen and offices and still has some beautiful
original ceilings and floors
The gardens are magnificent and here
you can see down to the lagoon. We had one of the cottages on the left
These are the two bedroom cottages
Ours from the back, with the
undercover parking
Large fully fitted and equipped
kitchen
Nicely decorated and very comfortable
lounge with a large TV with some satellite channels, and an open fire. Lots of
wood is supplied. Some cottages have gas fires
From the other side you have a better view of the
layout
Our double bedroom has views of the
lagoon
It has an en suite bathroom
The second bedroom has twin beds and
it also has an en suite with a shower
The view of the Pergola, swimming pool
and the Manor House from the cottages. They hold a lot of weddings here and
there is plenty of accommodation for guests
A lovely place for breakfast or lunch
in good weather
Great views of Knysna across the
lagoon
Mike Mills invited us for lunch on the
terrace
Crisp fresh fish and chips from The
Bell
Sue Mills and Lynne had the Crab cakes
with a sweet chilli dip and salad
A good hamburger with chips for John
and Mike
Their son Tom Mills, who was down to
represent Avondale wine farm (where he is the Western Cape Sales Executive) at
the Oyster Festival, joined us for a long and fun lunch in the sunshine
Down on the hotel’s jetty
Lovely afternoon light on the cottages
The side view of the manor house
There are also double storey houses
with more space
They are grouped together
behind the manor house
The Conference Centre
The Bell pub
Chatting to Mike Mills at breakfast
A buffet
breakfast is laid out in one of the front rooms. If the weather is bad,
breakfast is held inside
It is a very good selection including
cold meats, cheeses scones, muffins, warm pain au chocolate and juices
Fruit, yoghurt, cereals, even hot
porridge
There is also a menu of cooked
breakfasts. This is the open omelette with cheese, bacon, spinach and optional
mushrooms
Lynne chose the Eggs Benedict and they
were probably the best she has ever had. Really fresh eggs, perfectly poached, set on ham, spinach and crisp blinis rather than muffins, and the hollandaise
sauce was thick and creamy without being sour
There is some history on the walls
The main entrance leading to reception
Jeffrey took us to the Three Elephant tree
on the Belvidere Estate
carved by an Italian sculptor, whom we later met, who
lives in the house in front of it
The duck pond, reminiscent of Monet
Sadly the old oak trees on the estate
all have some sort of virus and are having to be cut down. Some interesting fungus has taken over
Our second morning dawned bright and
sunny so we had breakfast on the terrace. Other guests were also enjoying the
sunshine
Juice, a chocolate muffin, a warm pain
au chocolate and a good cup of black coffee to start for John
Sue Mills came to say goodbye as we
were leaving after breakfast. She is describing taking down their stand at the
Oyster festival
The Belvidere breakfast for Lynne.
Lovely pork banger and well cooked mushrooms
John had the cheese French toast
Thanks to all at Belvidere, we had a
wonderful stay
© John &
Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
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