Services
Historical Tours of Lekkerwijn
Lekkerwijn has a rich history. Harry Pickstone made the T-shaped Cape Dutch Homestead his home in the 1880′s. His grandaughter, Wendy, or great-grandson, Simon, are happy to give guests tours of the house and tell you about its rich history. We have also produced a 15 minute video of the Lekkerwijn’s history, which includes many interesting old photographs and pictures and discusses the people, architecture, farming, furniture associated with house and valley. Guests are welcome to watch this video at Lekkerwijn, please ask for help in getting this set up for you if necessary. The link for the A U-tube version of the video is on this website.
The original land grant was given by Jan Van Riebeek to a French Huguenot, Ari Lecrevant, in 1690. The Dutch farmers could not pronounce his name and called him ‘Lekkerwijn’. He was murdered though a few years later by a neighbour. Lekkerwijn was owned by various families. The homestead was probably built in the 1700′s. Harry Pickstone had Sir Herbert Baker design additions, including the double story bedroom wing over 100 years ago. Harry admired Cape Dutch antiques and his collection furnishes the guest house. Harry was sponsored by Cecil Rhodes to start the Rhodes Fruit farms and he was largely responsible for founding South Africa’s export deciduous fruit industry. Simon and Wendy can tell you about, the furniture, the architecture, the fruit industry, the people who lived here and many other aspects of the history of the valley.
Paid tours for visitors not staying at the Lekkerwijn, can be set up by prior arrangement.
Winetasting, Village Tours and Local Activities
Lekkerwijn sits in the heart of the Cape Winelands and is only 15 minutes drive from Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl. The local area has a host of historical sites and places to visit: museums, monuments, gardens and points of cultural, social and historical interest. A number of festivals take place in the valley every year, e.g. cheese, wine, champagne, literary and food. We are also next door to Victor Verster prison where Nelson Mandella was finally released from his long captivity.
Lekkerwijn is situated within walking distance of Boschendal, Allee Bleue and Solms-Delta wineries. All three have excellent restaurants and wine tasting. Solms-Delta has a unique museum which records the social and cultural history of the local people.
Within a short car journey are an abundance of other famous wineries and restaurants. If needed we will help you to design excursions to local places of interest, villages, wineries and restaurants.
