Deemed a thing of the past is true country living near the city and this is simply just not available anymore. Or so I thought until a recent trip to the small farming town of Philadelphia about an hour’s drive from Cape Town city centre. Most other small towns so close to the city have been completely spoilt by developments claiming to embody the “country lifestyle” and instead of fitting into the landscape as one would like, they stick out like a sore thumb, ruining instead of enhancing the surrounding landscape.

Escaping the inevitable ruin of progression, this beautiful little town has the church to thank as it still owns most of the town and the surrounding land. Many of us yearn for that little house in the country, with a white picket fence, a small vegetable garden and a huge old tree with a swing for the children. Here you need to look no further as time literally stood still. The town consists out of five, non-tarred, roads with a small main road with church, school and municipal building. Small town living at its best!

Around South Africa it often happens that the artists soon discover them and move in, open art galleries and coffee shops and generally feed off the atmosphere of these little towns. Not a bad thing considering that thanks to them the quaintness of the town is often preserved and any attempt at modernization is met with severe and firm opposition.

In this case it’s no different as Philadelphia has welcomed the arty crowd and has been placed firmly on the map as a must stop village. Up till now it has escaped tour busses, which makes it a peaceful and special place to visit on a sleepy morning for a good cup of coffee and a chat with the locals.

If you’re thinking of staying on in the area for a while and getting to know this little gem of a town a little better, a few of the farms in the area offer great farm stay accommodation, the closest being Rondekuil. They offer a choice between cottages and a rondawel for larger groups. Both options are self catering although they do offer breakfast for a small fee. The surrounding farm lands are beautiful and the short drive to Philadelphia is breathtaking. Rondekuil is just short of 8km away from the town, so on a nice sunny day I would recommend walking to the town and breathing in that gorgeous fresh country air!

Reserve the best Durbanville accommodation and pay a visit to the quaint town of Philadelphia for a real country life experience. A whole host of Durbanville activities are available to entertain you and keep the whole family busy.