Durban - Shuttleworth Weaving is about 10km along the Fort Nottingham Road, a meandering drive away from the bustling and increasingly popular village of Nottingham Road.
Before heading back to “town”, with its myriad eateries, quaint shops, cheeseries and so on, from Shuttleworth drive about 5km further towards Fort Nottingham and you will see historic houses and the old museum housed in the original fort.
Fort Nottingham’s name comes from Nottinghamshire’s regiment, the 45th Sherwood Foresters, which was stationed there in 1856.
The Foresters were meant to protect the settlers in the area and keep an eye out for San cattle raiders, confined in those days to the foothills and peaks of the nearby Drakensberg range.
The arrival of settlers with their domesticated animals in their last foothold heralded a rare and welcome new source of food for the hunger-gatherers, so colonial authorities dispatched the ex-Nottinghamshire regiment to quell stock raids.
The Foresters completed their garrison in 1856 and named it after their English Midlands home. The village that evolved alongside the fort’s approach was duly named Nottingham Road.
The museum covers aspects of those early settlers and the imperial forces that built the garrison. It’s open Wednesdays to Sundays 10am to 4pm and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
You can also stop off at the Fort Nottingham Nature Reserve. It has evergreen forest, grassland and a wetland. A trail passes through the grassland, alongside and across the wetland and up into the forest. A walk should not take more than about two hours. There is a picnic site (no toilets) near the wetland and entrance is free.
Birders will love spotting the assortment of weavers, long-crested eagles, African emerald cuckoo, black cuckoo, jackal buzzard, martial eagle and African crowned eagle.
The drive to the reserve is rich in birdlife. Look out for all three crane species, Cape vulture, bearded vulture, Amur falcon (mid-summer), Southern bald Ibis, bokmakierie, Denham’s bustard, ground woodpecker, buff-streaked chat and pied starling.
The reserve is on the right just before you reach Fort Nottingham. (For more info log on to www.kznwildlife.com)
Returning to Nottingham Road, look out for Bellwood Stud and Cottages, a marvellous venue for weekend getaways, weddings and fishing.
In and around the village of “Notties” is a host of places to visit and things to see. Pop into Scarecrows Antiques & Collectibles in the Sherwood Centre for gorgeous gifts, and pre-loved treasures or take the children candle-dipping at The Junction, which has loads of great little shops and where they can have fun at the archery range.
For mothers, there’s the Brookdale Health Hydro or Fordoun Spa nearby.
If stained glass appeals to you, visit Aladdin’s de-Light, where you’ll find exquisite glass collections and ceramic works.
Browse through the creations on display and visit the workshop and studio to watch these works of art being created and meet the artist behind the beauty.
Trout fishing has enticed lovers of the “gentle art” to the area’s well-stocked waters since 1884. The Mooi River that flows past the town offers some of the best fly-fishing in the country.
Dozens of dams in the area are stocked with trout and many are open to the public.
You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to casting a lazy fly in the dams and rivers.
Accommodation is equally varied and plentiful. There’s nearby Kleinbosch Estate, where you can fish and ride horses: 480ha of farmland and seven dams, including part of the original Voortrekker route.
Or you might want to overnight at the legendary Nottingham Road Hotel – more than a century of history and hauntings, with good grub too.
Alternatively, at the end of a long day in the country, what better way to enjoy a Midlands sunset than to visit the Nottingham Road Brewing Company at nearby Rawdon’s Hotel, home to one of the best-loved craft breweries in the province.
Ah, so much to do and so little time. - Sunday Tribune