The White House Guesthouse, Barrydale, Overberg

Secure yourself a blissful country lifestyle and business opportunity! This Klein Karoo guesthouse on Route 62 is a magnet for travellers looking for an authentic country escape.

Longing to savour life in the slow lane? Treat yourself to a blissful country lifestyle in Barrydale, with the added option of a realistic and proven income opportunity begging to be developed further. Step back in time in this quaint farming village where the pace of life is still measured by the arc of the sun and the slow changing of the seasons.

Set in a verdant narrow valley, this small Klein Karoo town is embraced by mountains and surrounded by successful dairy and fruit farms and fabulous wine estates. The famous Route 62 attracts visitors year-round but particularly in summer, when the town is a perfect halfway point for a leisurely road trip from Cape Town to the Garden Route, Plettenberg Bay or Oudtshoorn. Barrydale’s burgeoning foodie and art scene provides just the right amount of stimulus – without detracting from the authentic Karoo country culture that prevails here.

And the historic White House is the perfect place for soaking up the tranquillity of the Karoo. The guesthouse is in an ideal central location on a corner erf positioned to enjoy sunny winters and cool summers. This Cape heritage brakdak home built in the mid-1800s was originally a farmhouse before Barrydale itself grew around it. The owner did sensitive internal renovations to convert the farmhouse into the thriving guesthouse it is now.

“The walls are seriously thick and built out of mud, so it is unbelievably tranquil and cool inside. As it’s a heritage home, my guesthouse renovations involved reconfiguring the internal spaces to add volume. It’s set up beautifully now, with two ensuite guest rooms downstairs and a large suite upstairs, all with separate entrances. The thick original walls dampen sound so well, enhancing privacy.” The owner’s suite also enjoys total seclusion, despite being under the same roof. In the few quiet weeks in the off-season, the owner is delighted to host her now adult children and her grandchildren. “This old farmhouse also makes for a wonderful family/holiday home!”

“The two Tinley spinsters who built it were fruit farmers. They must have inspired me as my most beautiful garden now includes all my favourite fruit trees. I make jam from the delicious little plums harvested from the 150-year-old wild plum tree, but I also savour wonderful white guavas from the tree I planted, as well as bounteous fruit from my apple, lemon and olive trees and granadilla vines. I plant vegetables where I can, so I pretty much live off this property. The best thing is that the garden’s not too big, so it’s perfectly manageable!”

Many of the guests who stay at The White House return time and again. “This is the first town in the Klein Karoo on Route 62 – just 2½ hours from Cape Town and you’re in a beautiful valley. It’s a rural idyll; a wonderful country village that still has wide streets and dirt roads. Swellendam is 45km away, and if you feel like going to the beach, it’s just 1 hour to Witsands. You can take a leisurely drive from Cape Town, stopping off at Route 62’s wine farms along the way, and still get here by 3pm.”

“Our guests love it. Barrydale has a wonderful sense of authenticity in terms of its energy and people who live here – it’s real; it hasn’t been ruined by gentrification, and it’s a very successful farming area, so there is a still a sense of continuity with the rural past. And our guesthouse is so original, unique: there is nobody who doesn’t love it!” says the owner.

Specs:

• Erf size: 937 m²
• Dwelling size: 280 m²
• 4 bedrooms (en suite)
• 4.5 bathrooms
• Salt water plunge pool
• Large outdoor terrace with built-in braai
• Solar geyser
• Water tank
• Store room/wine cellar
• Laundry or domestic accommodation
• 3 parkings

For the property brochure, please click here

For more information on Barrydale, please click here

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