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From Johannesburg: Take the N3 towards Heidelberg. On the other side of Heidelberg, turn Left on the R23, in the Balfour, Standerton direction. Go past Balfour and past Greylingstad. After Greylingstad, turn LEFT on the R547, marked “KINROSS”. Continue 8km’s, go across the railway bridge, and turn Right into the Village of VAL.

From Pretoria: Go on the R50 towards Bapsfontein, continue along the R50 to Delmas and Leandra. After Leandra, look out for the R547 marked “BALFOUR” and turn right. Continue 28km’s. Just before the grain silo’s and railway bridge, turn LEFT into the village of VAL.

From Durban: Travel to Standerton. Take the R23 towards Heidelberg. Continue 40km’s and turn right on the R547 on the road marked “KINROSS”. Drive for 8 km’s, go across the railway bridge, and turn RIGHT into the village of VAL.

GPD Co-ordinates:

S26 degrees, 47 min, 48.5sec.
E28 degrees, 56 min, 09, 6.1 sec

Places of intereset in & around VAL

VAL

• Traditional slaghuis next to pub
• Antique Shop
• Historical Val Hotel dating back to 1896 where peace delegates met during June 1901
• Old train station, now backpacker’s accommodation
• Old post office with farm telephone exchange
• The Church of St Francis of Assisi with stained glass windows
• Die Plaashuis, old farmhouse on Oudehoutspruit Farm, now guesthouse
• Olde worlde sports club with tennis courts, cricket ground and squash court, also has camping facilities
• GC Tillage depot, an American manufacturer of farm implements
• Val Police Station with 18 officers or so and hardly any crime
• Grain silos
• OTK sheds with vintage tractors
• Old grain silos with old steam engine
• Old Learskool, now private residence
• Janoo’s tuck shop with Ghandi connection (Ghandi on his famous peaceful march was arrested in Val and spent
  some time in the local jail and because of his dietary requirements, meals were prepared by Mrs Janoo)
• Moeggeploegkroeg and restaurant
• Smith family graveyard
• Lane’s dam – for birding
• Beautiful Cosmos between late December to mid-April
• Flamingo in Winter on Grootpan

Around VAL

• “Fairy factory”, small circular pond with willows on the Weltevreden road, excellent photography, even at night
• English camp & old stage coach inn ruins on Cedermont Rd
• Old sandstone railway bridge on the Cedarmont road, Boer War sites
• Site at Wolwespruit where the first Victoria Cross of the Boer War was awarded to a Canadian of Strathcona’s Horse.
• Walk to a nearby waterfall, 3 km one way, excellent for photography and birding
• Outstanding collection of miniature tractors and vintage Dinkey toy cars on the Biermann farm on Weltevreden road
• Koppie on Mahemsfontein road with stone ruins of Boer War origin, excellent 360 degree view, short walk from the road
• Iron Age engravings on koppie opposite to the above
• Bass fishing dam between above two koppies with a lovely stone cottage
• Flamingos at Grootpan
• Old mine at Hex river 1888 on the Villiers road
• Roodepoort 1896 goldmine skanzes bullet holes hiding place of Boer war guns and ammunition
• Maureen mine north of van Kolders kop
• Site of derailed whisky train on railway between Val and Teakworth
• Tegwan’s Nest, between Val and Greylingstad, colonial guest farm since 1920s with ruins of the Fokeng Tribe
• 200 ha game farm close to Greylingstad, game and clay pigeon shooting
• ‘Ghost Town’ in Greylingstad, deserted village with Moerdyk church ruin, excellent photography during late afternoon
• Small historical exhibition at Greylingstad school, soon to be moved to church
• Voortrekker graveyard in Greylingstad
• Scottish Rifles camp in Greylingstad, on ‘SR’ koppie
• Rare butterfly breeding ground of the “Heidelberg Copper”, only to be found in seven locations on earth! (on ‘SR’ koppie)
• Medicinal and rare interesting plants to be found on the Greylingstad koppies
• Marked graves of those who died in the black concentration camp at Greylingstad
• G. Moerdyk house with historical first police station (stone jail at the back)
• Small museum at Greylingstad School
• Silverbank Farm, historical sandstone farm house originally built in 1906 and beautiful sandstone barns along
  Silverbank road
• Game Farms on the Silverbank road
• Pottery Christa Grobbelaar in Villiers road
• Lekoa lodge for quad biking on the Villiers road
• Mushroom farm on Gladdedrift road
• Traditional kraal on Gladdedrift road
• The house of Commandant Claassen, well known Boer warrior, graveyard
• The house of Joseph Smith, entrepreneur and first proprietor of the hotel – lots of stories and anecdotes!
• Grave of unknown British soldier on Willem Pistorius’ farm
• Stone work at farmhouses by Jack Pinker, stone mason to Herbert Baker
• The old “Hamilton House” on the farm “Bankies”
• Farm of historian Ludwig Ankewicz of Barnardskop with artefacts and history since 1, 5 million years ago:
  Early Stone Age, Stone Age, Late Stone age, Early Iron Age, Iron Age, and Late Iron Age
• Site where 70 members of the Prinsloo family was murdered by the Bushman: Roodebank