We met Lesley Gillett of Bartholomeus Klip at the
recent Groenberg Festival and they went on to our mailing list. We were
delighted when they invited us to come and stay and write about Bartholomeus
Klip. We spent Sunday early evening, the night and Monday morning there and it
is a lovely place to completely relax and chill out. Everything you need is
provided in this small country house on a farm in the Swartland. It also has
its own private nature reserve and game drives come as part of the cost, as do
all meals. The only extra is wine. It reminded Lynne very much of English
country house weekends and certainly is attracting lots of British and other
nationalities, who return more than once to be spoiled. http://www.bartholomeusklip.com/
Twin sisters Lesley and Louise Gillett work at
Bartholomeus Klip. Lesley is the manager of the farmhouse, and draws on years
of experience in the hospitality industry. Louise is the head chef, who has
honed her skills in some of the top restaurants in South Africa and the United
Kingdom.
We learnt a
lesson on Sunday afternoon. We rely far too much on GPS and when you are in the
country you need to expect it not to work. We learnt that is essential to print
out directions sent to us by the people who invite us. Google maps sent us to a
Denel munitions factory and no one in the area knew where we were supposed to
be. The phone at Bartholomeus Klip has been cut off for a week so we were in a
bind. Luckily we found an informed shopkeeper in Hermon (he has only been there
for about 2 months!) who could direct us and we found it, eventually. They are
prevented by the authorities from putting a sign on the R44 (WHY?) so if you go
you need to look for the Bo-Hermon sign and turn off there.
A few
kilometres down the road you come to the entrance to the farm
and the Elandsberg Private Nature Reserve which runs from the gates right up to the
Elandsberg mountains in the distance
Our bedroom
(the Nerina) was comfortably furnished with a mix of classic Victorian and
modern furniture, screens on the windows, a ceiling fan and air conditioning. It
has a very comfortable modern bed
The en suite
bathroom is large and has a shower over the bath
We were
invited to "Take Tea" in the lounge
where we found
a splendid spread laid for us
In the interests of good journalism, we did sample a few cakes and other delights with our tea and coffee
In the interests of good journalism, we did sample a few cakes and other delights with our tea and coffee
Cucumber
sandwiches, the best and lightest scones, caramel chocolate cakes and the
lightest and crispest apple tart ever were laid out on the buffet. This is a
daily occurrence and is included in your room rate
Next door is
the bar which works on an honesty system; you write what you have taken in a
book and help yourself. You are billed at the end of your stay
Next door to
that is the conservatory dining room which is very light and airy. Breakfast,
brunch and dinner are all held here and all are included in the room rate
Another lounge
to relax in and there is also a TV lounge and a desk with a laptop for the use
of guests
The excellent minted pea soup followed
Perfectly
cooked rare fillet of BBQ beef on a pumpkin risotto with a mushroom veal jus
was delicious. We found the caramel pinenuts a bit sweet with the meat. We
ordered a bottle of Saronsberg Provenance Shiraz to accompany the dish. John’s
came without mushrooms, as requested
(the pictures from the next morning)
or
© John &
Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015
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