Last Friday, we went off on a jaunt to Wellington. We
made a short stop at Windmeul wine cellar and had a quick taste of their wines
and then, suddenly, it was lunchtime so we visited Twist which is one of the
best places to eat when in Wellington. We had a fine lunch and then it was off
to Dunstone Country House (formerly known as Bovlei Valley Retreat, and the
signage still shows this name) where we had been invited to spend a night and
write about it. They have a summer special – dinner, bed and breakfast for R995.
We were put up in their Guava cottage, where we spent a relaxing afternoon and
evening and breakfasted the next morning. There will be a winter special from
May 1st. Check the website for details
Dunstone
winery and Guest house nestles beneath the magnificent Hawequa mountains and the Bain's Kloof pass
The owners live in the manor house
Off to our cottage
It is a large cottage with two
bedrooms and is very spacious
Bedroom number one with its en suite
bathroom
Both bedrooms open up onto the
enclosed courtyard
where the cottage has its own small swimming pool
Bedroom number two, showing the outside
braai
... which has a fireplace and a large
flat screen TV
The view from the cottage
The main Guesthouse is just a short
walk away through the gardens and this has a rim pool in front with beautiful
views of the valley and mountains
Looking across to Linton Park
Between 4 and 5 pm, you are invited to
taste Dunstone’s wines in the lounge and to have some tea
There are lots and lots of birds and
other wildlife to be seen
Lynne calls these amusing birds “Guineafools”
- their behaviour is always hilarious
Sitting on the terrace in the evening, watching cloud
formations in the shape of .. the British isles?
Dinner and breakfast are served in the
winery
There are plenty of tables and the
guest house was nicely full while we were there, with guests from Sweden,
Zimbabwe and Ireland
Dunstone wines are, of course, on the
menu
Privilege took really good care of us
while we were at Dunstone; she is a treasure
The Beverage list
The wine list – you can try many by
the glass
Our starter of melon and a little Parma
ham served, unusually, with a large salad
John chose steak with vegetable
Lynne’s choice was kingklip in a lemon
butter sauce with wicked potato wedges – so bad for the diet
Having eaten the chips, we both gave
in to pudding. This was the apple pie and bought "ice cream"
Cheese and Biscuits for John
Blackboard menus for lunch...
... the childrens’ menu...
...and breakfast – so we could decide
what to have the following morning
The temperature controlled wine cellar
is on view
Dunstone’s wine label features a dog
and this lovely bit of topiary being encouraged is on the front of the wine
cellar
The fruit basket in our room
Outside the winery
As they point out, the restaurant is
also part of a working winery
Breakfast for Lynne the next morning was
scrambled egg in a croissant with a small dribble of delicious truffle oil
The breakfast menu
John chose an omelette topped with
bacon and cheese
The breakfast beverage list of teas is
extensive
We then had a wander around the Guest
house to see some of the other rooms. This is the courtyard at the back
A lovely view from one of the rooms
They are beautifully decorated and
extremely well appointed and comfortable
Our farewell to Privilege, who was busy
cleaning the rooms and showed us the rooms that were ready for the next guests
Another of the lovely rooms
Our last look across the pool. We
think we might be back for another stay, perhaps in the winter
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
