Nottingham Road, Natal Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal
Nottingham Road is often referred to as the heart of the famous Midlands Meander. The town is situated about 50km north-west of Pietermaritzburg and about the same distance, as the crow flies, from the Drakensberg Mountains. This is magnificent farming country and the town is surrounded by vast cattle ranches, sheep farms and horse breeding studs.
It is also a tourist’s delight with a network of luxurious accommodation establishments, restaurants and taverns, its own local brewery, antique and arts and craft shops. The Junction Complex houses a number of very interesting shops such as a fly fishing and birding shop reputed to have the largest selection of flies in the Midlands, as well as restaurants and delis.
The town’s heritage goes back some 300 years to when the original San tribes inhabited the area. They were ousted by the Zulus under King Shaka who in turn were eventually sent packing by the English Settlers. In 1856 the settlers completed a garrison and named it Fort Nottingham after their midlands home town in England. The history is celebrated annually during the Sherwood Medieval Festival.
Fort Nottingham is a tiny hamlet situated about 15km from Nottingham Road. It began as a tented camp and then a fort from where the English forces conducted a campaign to rid the area of San cattle rustlers. When the Durban to Johannesburg railway was built in the mid 1800s the station was located further along the line. The station then grew to become Nottingham Road.
The annual Scottish Games that take place in many parts of the world are also celebrated in Fort Nottingham. The surrounding hills and verdant fields is a perfect setting for the Fort Nottingham Highland Games.
The Lion’s Bush Conservancy was created in 1980 by local farmers combining their lands with the 1500ha uMngeni Commonage. The uMngeni Municipality is in the process of protecting the grasslands, Afro-montane forests and wetlands under the Biodiversity Stewardship Programme. There are beautiful views of the Kamberg Valley and Giant’s Castle from the high ground on the Commonage.
Almost 300 bird species have been recorded in the area, there are abundant reed buck, bush buck and jackal as well as baboons, duiker, serval, mongoose, ant bears, otters, porcupines, genet and Samango monkeys. There have been a few reports of leopard sightings as well.
The Lion’s Bush Conservancy holds a monthly walk in the area – for details on conservancy events in the Midlands click here.
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