Magical McGregor

Magical McGregor

The small town of McGregor is what most would call “off the beaten track”; aside from a small sign­post on the N2 high­way, there is almost no indic­a­tion of its exist­ence.  Perhaps because of its isol­a­tion and the inspir­ing nat­ural sur­rounds, it has become some­what of a haven for artists.

The vil­lage lies at the foot of the Riviersonderend Mountains, and its cli­mate is sim­ilar to the rest of the Cape Peninsula and -  get­ting scorch­ingly hot in sum­mer, with rain and snow on the sur­round­ing peaks in winter.

Whether nature, art, wine or his­tory draw you to McGregor, you will find more than you bar­gained for in this sleepy village ...

In the mid 1800’s, when the town was foun­ded, it was named Lady Grey, in hon­our of Lady Eliza Grey, wife of the gov­ernor of the Cape, how­ever, with another town by the same name in the Eastern Cape, the name was changed. The townspeople are proud of their her­it­age, and the local Heritage Society has done much to pre­serve the archi­tec­tural his­tory, with many build­ings hav­ing been restored to their former glory.

Another draw­card for vis­it­ors to McGregor are the hik­ing trails and nature reserves in the area. The Kleinberg trail for example, is within walk­ing dis­tance of town, and is an easy 2 hour walk in the sur­round­ing hills. The Krans Nature reserve also offers sev­eral options, as does the Vrolijkheid Research sta­tion, which is also involved in the breed­ing of game. The Rooikat and Boesmanskloof Trails, 13 and 14kms respect­ively, offer a more chal­len­ging hike, both through moun­tain­ous ter­rain. Dassieshoek Nature Reserve offers a 2 day hike, as does Genadendal, or you can take the easy Waterfall hike to secluded, crys­tal clear rock pools.

The Donkey Sanctuary

As men­tioned, the town is also a haven for artists, and among the hand-crafted items on offer are hand painted kaf­tans and amaz­ing hand craf­ted pot­tery and brass­ware. The Old Post Office build­ing hosts Malmani Crafts, a curio shop with a wide selec­tion of gifts and souven­irs, as well as a cof­fee shop. Another unique offer­ing in this town is hand­made incense, by Annwn, man­u­fac­tured using all nat­ural ingredients.

The area is also a part of the Cape Winelands area, and offers many fine winer­ies, where tast­ings are held, and vis­it­ors can pur­chase their favor­ites, includ­ing the McGregor Winery, a con­sor­tium of 35 local pro­du­cers, ded­ic­ated to put­ting McGregor’s wine on the map internationally.Another local wine worth sampling is the home made Wolfdoring Red Berry. Resident John Hargreaves cre­ates this on a small scale, com­pletely by hand, offer­ing a dis­tinct­ive taste experience.

TIP: Experience McGregor at the Annual McGregor Food & wine Festival that takes place in August!
See McGregor Festival

Given its bohemian cit­izenry, McGregor is also some­thing of a new age ther­apy hot­spot. Everything from Reiki, to Polynesian mas­sage ther­apy to tarot read­ings are on offer and the town boasts a treat­ment centre, Temenos, where many altern­at­ive ther­apies as well as yoga and pil­ates classes are offered.

One last stop that must be made before leav­ing McGregor must be the museum. A treas­ure trove of local arti­facts, dis­plays include a Bible signed by the fam­ous Rob Roy. Maintained and run by local volun­teers, all of whom have long stand­ing ties to the vil­lage, it is some­what of a per­sonal mem­oir of the town’s evolution.

Useful Links:
For des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion please see:
McGregor Attractions
Things to Do in McGregor
McGregor Accommodation