The Buried Beach - A Woodstock Heritage Walking Tour

ABOUT

No part of Cape Town is more Cape Town than Woodstock.

From the start of Sir Lowry to the twist at Salt River Circle, the glamour, the grunge and the glory are unmatched (not to mention the gees). You might have gone on a street art walk before, and seen for yourself how much the community thinks of itself as a broad, infinite canvas, but to our knowledge no-one has yet offered anything like a slightly comprehensive wander through the story and soul of ‘South Africa’s first suburb’.

Think of all the words and places that spring to mind: gentrification, community, Trafalgar Park, spice and fruit markets, Upper and Lower, Alto Mar fisheries, Ruth Prowse, Edwardian houses, Rex Trueform, Queenspark, train yards, taxi-ranks, fine art galleries, painted walls, coding offices, union HQs, the Old Biscuit Mill, Delos Antiques, long-lost cinemas, buried beaches, grand old glaziers, Zhauns, the Old Castle Brewery; Jewish, Muslim and Catholic cemeteries, the very tree under which the Cape was signed over from one colonial power to another, and the last beautiful vestige of the spirit of District Six.

(Shout at me what I’ve forgotten).

Judging from most casual conversations and heated media debates, it seems the battle for Woodstock’s future reflects the struggle for the city’s own destiny. Developers are either displacing the survivors of the Group Areas Act or laying the groundwork for a South African version of Brooklyn or Hackney, or both. And they’ve been doing so for ages.

For the time being though, it’s a mixed and manic cosmos of energies from all over the continent and beyond, building on more than 200 years of strange encounters at the edge and middle of the earth.

So come with a few friends and fam and join me this Saturday at 14h00 at Flat Mountain Coffee Roasters to begin to traverse Victoria and Albert Roads and come to grips with the birthplace of Cape Town’s industrial revolution, all the while hearing our genius for paradox and diversity echo across the eras and back to today.

RSVP via Quicket or 076 033 8164 or [email protected] x

Yours,

Cameron of CTHT!

P.S. If you've read this far I'm guessing you'll want even more of the specs, so here goes:

- We'll be starting by Flat Mountain Coffee Roasters on Sir Lowry Road then finishing by Salt River Circle just over two hours later, so preferably come by MyCiTi bus, do a two-car system or join me in my uber back to the starting point.

- We used to be donation-based but to secure our future we're now doing a pre-booking system whereby you can guarantee your tickets beforehand at R120pp, or you can join the tour on the day for R150pp in cash or EFT et al. Simply WhatsApp or Message us via the buttons on our home page to secure your place.

- This is a consistently well-reviewed heritage-focused walking tour; which is to say that all you'll need to enjoy yourself is curiosity about Cape Town's past (and History in general) and enough stamina to walk just less than 2km in one afternoon (with stops and snacks) so WhatsApp us on 076 033 8164 or DM via the buttons on our homepage to book your places.

- If you're rejoining us, please please please please please please consider dropping us a short (or extensive) review on our Facebook Reviews or Google Reviews section as it will help spread our gospel of curiosity and playful appreciation across the internet and across the spectrum of all potential visitors to the Cape. It helps us more than you can believe!

- We've also introduced an optional R10 donation on your ticket which will go directly to the NGO Streetscapes as part of our mission to spread love, enthusiasm, mutual support and respect for all of Cape Town's people and histories. Just think how many people we could help and the difference we could make with a few hundred tours!

- Feel absolutely free to spread the word, invite friends who've been looking for this kind of experience and badger us with every imaginable heritage query. We live for it!

Can't wait to meet ya x

DIRECTIONS