A Day on the Franschhoek Wine Tram

Another beautiful sunny day in Franschhoek. It was cold to start with, but by late morning it was T-shirt weather and stayed that way until about 6pm.

Today was all about wine in the Cape Winelands.

We found a lovely sourdough bakery for breakfast and enjoyed scrambled eggs on fresh sourdough before making our way to the famous Wine Tram. We were handed a glass of wine as we boarded the 10am tram, which was a very good start to the day.

We had no idea what we were doing at first, but one of the lovely ladies on the tram soon pointed us in the right direction. The Wine Tram, which is only a three-minute walk from our apartment, is a hop-on, hop-off tram and trolley service that takes you between the different wine estates, allowing you to spend around an hour at each one before moving on.

Our first stop was Rickety Bridge Winery. You guessed it,you have to cross a rickety bridge to get there. We also discovered that its sister winery is in Hassocks. Here we shared a tasting of four wines, a rosé, a white and two reds. I should point out we shared them, not four wines each! They were all very nice and enjoyed in a beautiful setting.

Back on the tram, we headed to Grande Provence Winery, where we were collected by a vintage tractor and trailer. We didn't sample any wine here, choosing instead to wander around the beautiful estate and its art galleries before returning to the tram.

Our next stop, this time by trolley, was Mont Rochelle, owned by Richard Branson. Here we sampled five wines, all very nice, although the rosé was especially good.

Back on the trolley again, we made our way to Haute Cabrière. We hadn't intended to have any wine here, but as they specialise in sparkling wines, it seemed rude not to. We ended up sampling four sparkling wines before moving on to our final stop of the day.

Our last winery was Eikehof, where we shared a delicious cheese and charcuterie board along with three wine tastings. Although officially it was three wines, we were each given different red and white wines (but the same rosé), so we actually sampled six wines for the price of three.

All of the wineries are set within the same valley, with stunning mountain scenery providing the backdrop wherever you look. It really is a spectacular setting and made the whole experience even more enjoyable.

Throughout the day we met some lovely people, both those serving the wines and fellow visitors enjoying the tastings.

For our evening meal we headed to the Station Pub, originally the town's railway station. Most of the original features have been retained, with only the necessary changes made to convert it into a restaurant, mainly the addition of a kitchen. It had a great atmosphere and it was still warm enough to sit outside under one of the heaters.

What a perfect day!!