S1 - Ep 332 - Bedford - A Delightful Destination which Exceeded our Expectations!

Our trip to Bedford was an adventure filled with contrasts. Leaving Riebeeck East, we embarked on a 20km drive along a wet gravel road riddled with potholes, but the sight of Impala made the journey worthwhile. Surprisingly, the tar road proved to be even worse as we made our way to Bedford. However, we were richly rewarded upon arriving in this bustling yet stunning town. Driving through the main road, we were captivated by the charm that surrounded us. Our first stop at De Oude Fabreeck exceeded our expectations. It is truly a delightful destination! The furniture factory provided a fascinating glimpse into their craft, showcasing their exquisite creations. We also enjoyed the cosy ambiance of the restaurant, explored the arts and crafts center, and admired the dedicated children's area. Continuing our exploration, we visited the town's library, housed within a magnificent old building that added a touch of nostalgia to our experience. As we drove through the town, we encountered beautiful churches, well-preserved historic sites, and even a hospital in great condition. Our trip to Bedford was a delightful surprise, leaving us with cherished memories of this remarkable town. #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #travelongravel #easterncape #bedford
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[@kelvinnaidoo8674]

Good morning thank you guys for bringing your travels into the privacy of my home this town is really breath taking everything in this town is amazing from my point of view I'm giving this town BEDFORD A 5 STAR RATING 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟🌟

[@DustBugsTravel]

Wowzer, five stars! 🚙🌟 I'm really happy you enjoyed Bedford so much. To be completely honest, so did we. It was a great visit to a great town! Thanks for coming along again!

[@kelvinnaidoo8674]

@@DustBugsTravel it's a pleasure being part of the travel experience thanks do take care stay safe and keep warm have a blessed day

[@lindapage5046]

Loved Bedford the most with all the beautiful old church buildings and houses. We have a beautiful country and lots to see and enjoy through your travels. Thank you for sharing all the trips and history in each town. Safe travels.😊

[@mariusroos]

What a nice town and so much happening there. The factory is stunning and so the furniture they manufacture. The churches in any town is always so nice to see - a point of keeping people together in religion. A very pleasant trip and awesome to see the activity in such a relatine small town. How can i not book my seat for the next one!

[@DustBugsTravel]

It was quite a big surprise to find that incredible furniture factory on the outskirts of Bedford, they really make good quality items there! 👌🏻 There was no shortage of beautiful churches in Bedford and quite a few of them too! 🚙💒 You'll be in serious trouble if you don't occupy your seat next time, so don't even think about it! 😁

[@ronnykenny3965]

Hi Dustbugs, totally GOBSMACKED, wow. My brother lived there many many yrs ago , looks as if Bedford is on it's way up. Think this is one of the most interesting vids you've given us, THANK YOU👏👏. Stay safe, 🚗🚗🚗🚗

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed our visit to Bedford! 🚙😁 It really is a very green and interesting town and we loved driving around the place. We happened upon some rather interesting sights. As always, we love your company on these trips. 👌🏻

[@sandragrobler2957]

My day is made when I get up in the morning and there is a new episode that I can enjoy with my morning coffee. Thank you, Curtis and Sonia, for bringing so much joy to my life. I miss my country so much and you make it possible for me to explore it from so far away. Very proud to be a South African!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for your very kind words! 🚙🤩 We're very happy to be sharing our travels with you and to bring a little bit of South Africa into your home far away. You're always welcome to join us on our backseat! 😍🇿🇦

[@Patshes]

A lot of beauty to be had at this town.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Yup, we thought so too. Lots of green also! 🚙🌳

[@annawitter5161]

Amazing to be treated to impala in the road first up! They are so gorgeous! And springbok! That tar road is serious stuff and needs to be taken carefully. I remember Bedford as a town we used to travel through on the way to Hogsback. If you go thrugh in the spring or summer, there is just flowers everywhere. So pretty. So interesting to see DE oude Fabreek. What an amazing place. The public library is a beautiful old building...I could spend days there just browsing books. That Presbytarian church is a particular amazing building. Well, Bedford was always pretty and doesnt seem to have changed since I saw it last.

[@DustBugsTravel]

We were super happy seeing impala again on this trip, we've always enjoyed them from our time up in the northern parts of our country and don't get to see them as often as springbok. 😍🦌 I was super happy that the gentleman at the library opened up for me and allowed me to film and equally so at De Oude Fabreeck. 📚 🏭 The owner is incredibly passionate about this project and the town of Bedford, that was great to experience. I'm glad Bedford still looks as good as you remember it, that's a fantastic thing in this day and age and not something we hear all that often! 🚙🤩

[@emmerentiagroenewald3694]

Lovely town! Just a short story: when we wanted to drive through here,(i think it was in 2012 or 2013) there was a sit -in on the main road...and they were throwing rocks at the cars...! A small black boy said he knew how to get on to another road to get past! We gave him a lift and some food and money, to say thank you! To this day we dont know what the reason was....roads,water, housing?? So we did not see much of the place.....till now, with your video!! Thanks!❤❤

[@DustBugsTravel]

Bedford is a lovely town indeed. 👌🏻 That sounds like quite a scary experience for you. 😨 I read on dispatchlive.co.za that violent service delivery protests rocked the town of Bedford in 2015, so those must be the ones you're referring to. I'm glad you could visit Bedford safely this time, from the comfort of your armchair. 🚙🙂

[@munesumangava9751]

Bedford looks lush green….. probably the freshest air ever!!!! Just intriguing!!!!!

[@charlietreston4035]

Hi guys a charming town with a beautiful back ground of the mountains the amount of old buildings amazing loved the old bottle store plus the choice of churches for a small place crazy. The drive in what can I say impala in the road monkeys drinking water from the pot holes and the springbok herd only in South Africa 🇿🇦 the sign was different made me smile. The wind farm was impressive but I believe they are not as good as we were told as we have found here in the UK and also the all froze up in texas in a cold snap? The guy from die oude fabriek deserves a medal what a great place especially the wood work shop as I have used all of those old machines the gardens looked great as you were driving around the way to the golf club great lovely fair ways. The little library I feel they are so important especially for the younger generation to read books and I could almost smell the old books the fortress was intriguing it reminds me of a house I visited to install a attena out near Pretoria it was called (little sunny pools) the elderly lady was the wife of the officer in charge of the SA army in North Africa the houses was like a castle/ Fort and had been built by Italian prisoners of war she showed us photographs of Jan smuts given her away at her wedding the place was so well built I struggled to drill into the walls. This video again so surprising I think the Duke was right such a interesting place that on the up thanks for taking me along cheerio till the next one

[@DustBugsTravel]

Bedford was for sure a charming town, we felt it too. That must be one of the most beautiful bottle stores in all of the Eastern Cape! 🏛️ I loved the monkeys drinking water from the potholes, at least they serve some purpose. 🐒🕳️ How interesting that the turbines froze up in Texas of all places! 😳 I know they're quite a contentious subject and also potentially harmful to birdlife, so it's quite a conundrum finding alternative energy sources. Methinks solar is the wy to go, but I'm no expert. 🤷🏻‍♂️☀️ Very interesting to read that you struggled to drill into those walls since they were so well-built. That says it all about these old buildings, sturdy as anything and incredibly beautiful to boot. 🏛️😍

[@colleenwood]

Many childhood holidays spent in Bedford. My mom's family grew up there and that is where my parents met and married. My two older sisters were born there too. I really enjoyed seeing what it looks like now and remembered many of the old buildings and all the churches and the hospital. I have forwarded the link to family members ... maybe you will get a few more subscribers.

[@DustBugsTravel]

I appreciate you watching our video of your old hometown. 🚙😍 Thank you too for sharing our video, I hope your relatives will be happy with present-day Bedford. If they could be reminded of happy and special times in their own lives, that will be wonderful. It was our first visit and we certainly loved the town!

[@1812nico]

Hi you two! Thank you for taking me to this surprising place. It is difficult to single out anything. Everything we looked at was just amazing.; the churches, the buildings, new and old so well kept, De Oude Fabreeck, the gardens... . The Bedford Country Gardens weekends must be something great to go to experience. The gravel road and the paved road to town were really competing for first place in the potholing competition, but the Impala and Springbokke under the blue skies in the beautiful countryside somehow distracted my attention from them. Your travelling and excellent video photography really brings the gems of our beloved country right into our homes and hearts. Thank you for all the effort you are putting in. I am waiting for the next trip already. Keep safe!

[@DustBugsTravel]

l know! I felt the same way about Bedford. There was a surprise waiting for us literally around every corner and we thoroughly enjoyed the town. Your potholing competition gave me a good chuckle. I know it's not really funny, but we have to make light of it if we'd like to continue our travels joyfully. At least the little monkeys were able to slake their thirst in the potholes on the tar road. 🐒🛣️ You write that the antelope distracted you from the potholes and that really does happen to us all the time when we're on the road. There are just so many other things to focus on and rave about, that the potholes are almost immediately forgotten. It remains our joy to bring you the beauty of this incredible country and we hope you will continue watching. 🚙🇿🇦

[@1812nico]

@@DustBugsTravel I might skip a trip or two. On my way to Waterberg for 10+ days and expect signal problems. 🦒

[@volksieza]

Grahamstown cyclists use the Bedford road as it's so quiet car wise to train, hence hooting. I'm blown away of the sad state of the road now😡

[@DustBugsTravel]

That's so interesting, I never knew that. 🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏻 The road was rather potholey, not gonna lie! I would imagine the cyclists become rather adept at dodging those. 😨

[@kosievandenberg2145]

Yes the second half of the video just left me breathless. All those churches. Just amazing. Thanx for visiting BEDFORD. Have you managed to find out about the monument and what could have been removed. I'm curious to know.?!!

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm glad you enjoyed half of Bedford, we enjoyed it all! 🚙😁 When we got home, I checked online about the monument, which was the First World War Memorial, quite a tall and beautiful monument in its day. I read on dispatchlive.co.za that a truck drove into the memorial in 2016 and completely destroyed it. 😥🏛️ The 36-ton truck was carrying a load of potatoes and the driver fell asleep 200m away from the monument and ploughed straight into the memorial. So, so sad!

[@kosievandenberg2145]

😊 loved the first halve aswell.

[@munesumangava9751]

What a sight!!! Galloping Impalas👏👏👏

[@aginn9506]

Why did the chicken cross the road?... To get to the other side! Is how I remember it. Great video

[@DustBugsTravel]

Glad you enjoyed the video! 🚙😁 And that's exactly how I remember the chicken joke too, although I'm sure there are variants of it. 🤣🐓

[@tillabezuidenhout6460]

Beautuful sunset!!

[@jeffrobinson5496]

Excellent music in the shop. Some really hip people in Bedford.

[@pieterplaatjies9312]

Was great watching your overview video of Bedford, I'm a local filmmaker from BEDFORD Eastern Cape,would like to work with you guys some day on future projects if possible.🙏🙏🙏

[@munesumangava9751]

Loads of wildlife in the area hence the game farms…..So many suprising encounters with animals as you travel! Beautiful sights indeed😊😊

[@ingeborgvanderveer789]

Hoot voor fietsers, dat is erg grappig, daar zou je in Nederland een dagtaak aan hebben 😅🚲. Wat een prachtige aflevering, met zoveel verrassingen. Weer de mooie wilde dieren, het blijft indrukwekkend zulke ontmoetingen onderweg. De oude fabriek die gewoon nog in functie is, erg leuk dat je even binnen mocht kijken. De oude vergane kerk, wat zou zich daar hebben afgespeeld? Gelukkig dat er zoveel andere exemplaren over zijn, dit lijkt wel Churchtown 💒! Dat oude monument mist zeker weten de sokkel ter ere van en mogelijk ook met de namen van gesneuvelde militairen in de Grote Oorlog, gezien de namen van de mannen uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog onderaan erbij zijn geplakt. Dit zie je ook in vele dorpen in Duitsland, Frankrijk en de UK 🪖✝️. Goed om te zien dat men in deze stad nog zo’n grote bibliotheek heeft en inderdaad “Nothing beats the smell of books’! Je ging wel iets te snel langs die poster over Ware liefde, kun je de volgende keer even inzoomen want misschien kan ik daar nog wat van leren 😂😊. En dan ook daarna nog eens die prachtige kleurrijke hoofdstraat met oude huisje en winkels, het kan niet op met mooie beelden. Dus ik ga nu even bijkomen van alles met een ijskoude cola want het is hier nog steeds subtropisch warm ☀️😎

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm sure you've read the other comments about the reason why that hoot for cyclists sign was on that road. 🛣️🚴🏻🚴🏻‍♀️ Fair point you make about the number of bicycles in your own country, there will never be a quiet moment! You sound like Sonia, who also wants me to zoom in on everything. 😁 It's simply not possible though, I'll be zooming the entire time, while I would also like to focus on the bigger picture a town presents. I haven't been able to find any info about that abandoned church on the outskirts of town, especially because we don't know the name of the church to begin with. It was indeed a First World War Memorial which a truck ploughed into and completely destroyed in 2016. 😥🏛️ I hope you enjoyed the Coke. We're freezing here! 🥶

[@munesumangava9751]

Wow! What a church hall! Can just imagine hosting a function in there👌👏

[@beverleybailey3161]

We watched this with great interest as we lived in Bedford for 6 years. The memorial was knocked down by a truck. The old intriguing stone place with no name was the old jail. Boy!! If you had contacted the historical society they might have taken you through...it was absolutely amazing inside with a LOT of stories to tell. We were disappointed that you didn't take the road that the side of the hospital, as opposite the hospital was our old house from the 18 hundreds. I would have loved to see that again. If ever you go again, please go down to the bottom of Victoria Prospect road and see a very old stone cottage, now painted white (we left it as it should have been left, unpainted stonework) but thank you for a very interesting video. 😊

[@DustBugsTravel]

I read about the potato truck that destroyed the war memorial and I found that quite sad. 😥🏛️ We spent a good while outside (what we now know is) the old jail and called a few people, but no-one we could reach, was able to help us with info. 🤷🏻‍♂️ It's simply impossible to cover every single street in a place we get to visit, so there will always be ones we miss. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the video though, thank you for watching. 🚙😁

[@Mm1twiggy]

The “broken” monument in the middle of the road was a 3-4 meter Cenotaph. Gone, kaput finish klaar! Thank you ANC govt.

[@DustBugsTravel]

I believe it was a First World War Memorial, quite a tall and beautiful monument at one time. Apparently a truck drove into the memorial in 2016 and completely destroyed it. 😥🏛️ The 36-ton truck was carrying a load of potatoes and the driver fell asleep 200m away from the monument and ploughed straight into the memorial.

[@gregorycotton1]

Beautiful!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Agreed! 🚙👌🏻

[@beverleybailey3161]

Shared this video with a few friends we had (and still have) in Bedford. Thanks again 😊

[@DustBugsTravel]

That is very kind, thank you so much. We hope they enjoy the video too! 🚙😁

[@sensorymats8544]

the town is named after the Duke of Bedford -hense the local hotel is called by the same name.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for filling in that piece of history. 👌🏻

[@munesumangava9751]

Now that’s a potholly road yhoooooo🙆‍♀️

[@Sang-w8c]

Hey guys! Thanks a ton for posting this incredible video. My mom's side of the family hails from the same place, and I had the chance to visit during my primary years before relocating to Durban. Watching your video brought back a flood of cherished memories from Bedford. Every detail you shared resonated deeply with me, sparking a wave of nostalgia. Truly amazing!

[@christiaandutoit1094]

Baie mooi plekkie

[@DustBugsTravel]

Indeed, Bedford is a beautiful town in the beautiful Eastern Cape! 🚙🤩

[@gerhardvanwaltsleben8944]

Lekker man lekker 🇿🇦

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm glad you approve! 😁🇿🇦

[@frederikbrits9559]

I'll spend a time in the Tvl Lowveld visiting my children and of course my favorite the Kruger. As always a great video Curtis ..Sonia. History of Bedford also very interesting. Town eastablished on farm Maastroom and the owner was the notorious Andries Stockenstroom (not a popular man amongst the East Border farmers in the 1800's). Named the town after his friend the Duke of Bedford. Also the hometown of Thomas Pringle

[@DustBugsTravel]

Welcome back, I missed you! 🙋🏻‍♂️ I'm jealous of you having been to the Kruger. I'm sure you had a fantastic time with your kids. Our hearts are longing to be in Kruger again and I hope we can make it happen not too long from now. I'm glad you enjoyed Bedford. 🚙😁 Certainly a very rich history. We were aware of Maasstroom and Andries Strockenstroom which Sonia shared in our video, but didn't know the rest and certainly not the origin of the name. Thank you for catching up on our videos! 👌🏻

[@munesumangava9751]

Looks like theres a specific area for beautiful Churches 👌

[@johnconifer6150]

Just love your content..

[@doraduplessis2727]

I was quite impressed with this town. Never been there although we know people who have been farming there for many years. I sent the link to them.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for watching and for sharing the link with your friends. 🚙😁 Bedford is a great town and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

[@munesumangava9751]

Colourful units like that area in Cape Town with the colourful houses…. Bo Kaap😊

[@thewanderer58]

Gosh. And how this quaint little town has grown! So happy I came across this video of yours. It was a trip down memory lane for me. I travelled by train from Jo'burg to Adelaide in 1975 (my matric year) to visit a friend whose family had moved to Bedford three years prior. His father picked me up from Adelaide station since the mainline train to Port Elizabeth from Jo'burg did not travel through Bedford. His mother was employed in a senior nursing post at the provincial hospital and the family lived in a house just down the road from the hospital, both of which you drove past. I got shivers down my spine seeing the two places some 49 years later. The town was a little village back then, probably a quarter the size it is today. Although his parents have since both passed on sadly, my friend now lives in KZN and I shall definitely send him the link to this video. I may well pay Bedford another visit.

[@thewanderer58]

Oops. Apologies. Adelaide station in my above comment should read Cookhouse station. 🤭

[@danavanniekerk9868]

Sonia, I read the following regarding the name: "In 1854, one of the leading inhabitants of the district, then in England, conceived the pal and laid out the erven for the village which he named after his good friend the Duke of Bedford"

[@asemahlesirayi7797]

If you heading to Fort Beaufort please visit TRN lodge...beautiful trip thanks for sharing

[@DustBugsTravel]

This trip was about a month ago and we're almost heading out for the next one! 🚙😁 We did visit a few more places in the Eastern Cape which we look forward to sharing with you. Thank you for the suggestion.

[@johangouws8855]

South African “green power” = a mere 11% and total world green power only 30% ….. the SA coal power neglect constitutes the load shedding. What is heartbreaking is how we spoil the landscape with these ugly, not bird friendly wind farms.

[@DustBugsTravel]

We happen to love the turbines and don't see them as spoiling the landscapes at all. They are a real moral dilemma for me though. I gather from the info you provided that many more windfarms will be necessary to positively impact loadshedding. I'm also concerned about their potential harm to birdlife. In my opinion, coal creates even more issues though, so it sounds to me like solar may be the way forward. 🤷🏻‍♂️☀️

[@johangouws8855]

@@DustBugsTravel solar is also a very limiting option, if you don’t build massive batteries the size of a couple of football fields, to store power for after sunset. Here in Australia we have wind farms, solar on almost every roof, hydro power and we can at the moment only supply 30%. We still use gas and coal (which we have in abundance) The carbon footprint story is a just a story….. we can’t save the planet, the Creator is in control of His creation.

[@theexperimentalcqdx4208]

The reason why Loadshedding, in spite of turbines. It's because the grid can't keep up with the base storage capacity, which roof Solar and wind turbines produce currently.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for the info. I won't claim to understand it all fully and am still bothered by the fact that the more wind and solar farms spring up, the worse loadshedding gets. It's beyond me. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@theexperimentalcqdx4208]

@@DustBugsTravel Its because the demand is ever increasing, and they cant keep up storage capacity, amongst other maintenance issues. Electricity needs to be stored somewhere for later use, to put it in simple terms, NOT enough batteries as an example. So Loadshedding will continue and get less as they add storage capacity onto the grid

[@undergroundmixsessions]

Great.. so once the electrolysers finally arrive (one day) one can use that excess energy and convert it to green hydrogen for use in refineries / steel trade (reduced xarbon footprint), and or store that H2 or export it...;) Namibia is picking up on this..with great interests and partnerships from EU countries etc oh wait but this won't solve the energy crisis in the homes...

[@Boomer54321]

Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he wanted to get to the other side😊

[@DustBugsTravel]

Indeed! 😁🐔 I can't even believe I forgot that one in the moment!

[@dorothyparker8328]

The joke is: Why does the chicken cross the road? The answer: to get to the other side. Lame, hey?

[@DustBugsTravel]

We used to think it's hysterical though! 🤣🐔 Thanks for refreshing my memory!

[@SurprisedBalkhHound-kd3oy]

Die monument wat jy daar sien. naby die city hal oppad Adelaide toe was gestamp deur a trok groot took niemand was vervolg nie hulle wou dit maar verwyder omdat uit die vorige Era Dateer dit was a Lang structure soos a. Naald

[@tillabezuidenhout6460]

Or is it sunrise?

[@DustBugsTravel]

That was our first stop after leaving Riebeek East earlier that morning, so sunrise it must've been! 🌄

[@samkelemleni8973]

Stop and ask...xhosa people will not be offended.

[@DustBugsTravel]

We do that all the time. Because we look for unusual things and therefore unusual answers, very few people are able to answer our questions. We prefer exploring on our own anyway and finding out for ourselves. 🚙😁 Thank you for watching.