Nottingham Road

Nottingham Road sits 19km south of Mooi River and 59km northwest of Pietermaritzburg on the R103, at an elevation of around 1,500 metres where the air is noticeably cool and the countryside looks more Wiltshire than KwaZulu-Natal. The name comes from the Nottingham Regiment, British troops stationed here in the 19th century when conflict with the Basotho was anticipated. The village was formally established in 1905, by which point Scottish settlers had already been farming the surrounding valleys for half a century, introducing trout to local streams as early as 1889.

The Nottingham Road Brewing Company is the most famous thing here, and with good reason. Found in the grounds of Rawdon's Country Hotel, the brewery uses spring water from a well on site to produce naturally brewed ales and lagers under names like Whistling Weasel Pale Ale and Pie-Eyed Possum Pilsner. The pub is exactly what you want after a cold morning on the road: low beams, open fire, and a beer that earns its place.

Trout fishing has been part of this landscape since the 1880s. The farms around Nottingham Road hold trout dams and river beats on the Mooi River tributaries, and several guesthouses cater specifically for fly fishermen. Beyond the fishing, the Midlands Meander runs through here, connecting craft producers, pottery studios, cheese farms, and country restaurants from Howick to Mooi River.

The village itself is small enough to walk in ten minutes: a pub, a petrol station, a few farm stalls and craft shops. It doesn't pretend to be more. The surrounding countryside, dairy farms, pine plantations, misty grassland, and hills that fold into each other toward the Drakensberg, is why people come.