Olive Stone Farm

Confusingly (to my small brain), the first encounter I had with Olive Stone Farm was in fact peach stones – that’s what the drive is made from – and where the effervescent owner Wanda met me as I came in. It’s not often you come across a farm specialising only in olives but here you do. A tasting room was still being built at the time I stayed and it’s surely going to be a hit. I left with a huge tub of olive oil from the farm which is so delicious all you need with it is good bread.

The three cottages sit a really good distance from each other to afford not only indoor but also outdoor privacy: that’s important because the mountain water-fed plunge pool is an absolute delight (for me particularly so as the colder the better and this was September). Each one is a heritage building with exposed and unpainted timbers, unplastered walls and beautiful flag stone floors. Each one feels like and afford all the amenities of a small house: there’s lovely touches like a vintage dressing table just opposite the open shower room (but luckily a separate room for the loo) and everything you need and nothing you don’t in the kitchen, replete with SMEG fridge.

I was particularly impressed with the standard of the linen at this price range, the small wood burner for the chillier nights but also the lovely reading nook or third bed which had been made inside the thick walls and in front of a pretty sash window.

Wanda and Johan live on site and were superb ambassadors for all the Montagu has to offer.

Sustainability: They make use of solar energy with inverters and solar panels, where most of their energy comes from. They only rely on municipal electricity when it is overcast for days on end. They are fortunate that Montagu has a very effective “leiwater” system, whereby water from the mountain irrigates their garden once a week. Tuesdays are happy hour for their chickens and ducks, as all the crickets and worms surface with the flooding of the garden from the “leiwater.”

Food scraps are fed to the chickens, producing the most beautiful real free-range eggs. Their chickens and ducks also produce fertilizer for their grass and plants.

Mobility: They do not have any steps in and around their cottages. Care needs to be taken with the rough and uneven surface of the ground cover of apricot pips.

Children: Children are allowed but only with prior arrangements. They do enjoy the swimming pools at each of the cottages as well as the hot tubs. The free roaming animals are also a treat for the children (and adults).