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Somerset East Accommodation and Tourism
Accommodation in Somerset East
Somerset East offers tourists a variety of accommodation options. Accommodation range from 4 star guesthouses to backpackers facilities. Please visit www.somerseteastourism.co.za for more information on accommodation.
Activities in town
Somerset East is quite small, making it easy to walk around. Due to its long history it boasts a remarkable number of National Monuments and places of interest despite its size.
Paulet Street was the first street to be built and abounds in attractive old buildings, many being national monuments. Several of the houses date from the period 1825 to 1830 while number 107, the "Mill House", may have been the original house of the experimental farm which antedated the town and is certainly one of the oldest buildings in the area.
Other buildings of interest in Paulet Street include the William Oates School, the Bellevue Seminary, a school for girls, and the Hope Church of the London Missionary Society.
Right next door to Somerset Cottage is, as mentioned, the Walter Battis Art Gallery, a collection of the work of this local artist and friend of Pablo Picasso, reflecting different periods of his career as well as personal memorabilia.
Just round the corner from Paulet Street, at the top of Beaufort Street, is the Museum. It stands in spacious grounds which are part of the Bosberg Nature Reserve and has been furnished with period pieces from late Victorian times. In the grounds is a rare post box dating from Queen Victoria's reign. An elegant Regency style building, it was consecrated in 1828 as a Wesleyan chapel and in 1835 became the parsonage of the Dutch Reformed Church for the next 105 years.
Elsewhere in the town are buildings of historical or architectural interest and a walk round is a pleasant experience due to the relaxed atmosphere.
Activities in the area
The Bosberg Nature Reserve, looming over the town, is good for walks and one can also go on a more vigorous overnight hike. There is a wide variety of mammals and other animals as well as 83 bird species including the Knysna Loerie and both the Crowned and the Booted Eagle.
For the more adventurous, the district offers a number of activities: abseiling, rock climbing, gorge gliding, paintball and para-gliding.
More conventional sports are also catered for such as golf, horse riding, fly fishing, clay pigeon shooting, mountain biking and 4x4 trails.
First class game viewing and hunting farms also await you.
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