The Breede River has its origins in the mountains near Ceres, flows alongside Mitchel's Pass and past Wolseley, to be joined by the White River from Bains Kloof. Traditionally the area from south of Wolsely to Bonnnievale was known as the Breede River Valley, but this has now been divided into different marketing areas: Breedekloof, being the upper reaches of the valley, Slanghoek and Rawsonville; the Worcester Winelands; and the Robertson Wine Valley, covering Robertson, Bonnievale, McGregor, Ashton and Montagu (although the latter lies beyond the Cogmans Kloof in the Little Karoo). The Breede Valley Municipality, on the other hand, includes the towns Worcester, De Doorns, Rawsonville, Touwsriver and the Matroosberg.

Topographically the Breede River Valley extends to the Witzenberg behind Tulbagh, and geologically the valley marks a seismic fault, which caused the earthquakes in 1969-70 which damaged many buildings, especially in Tulbagh.

The natural vegetation was mostly Karoo scrubland and mountain fynbos, but the arable land is now covered by orchards and vineyards – the valley is one of the most important fruit and wine producing areas in the country. The scenery can be spectacular, with imposing mountains forming the backdrop in every direction.

We start our route on the R43 between Worcester and Villiersdorp and take a turn-off to Scherpenheuwel. The gravel road follows the vineyards, orchards and olive groves on the southern banks of the Breede River, with rolling hills covered with succulent Karoo vegetation stretching away for kilometres – city life seems to be very far away indeed. The road eventually passes through the hills and brings one to Robertson and McGregor.

The town of Robertson, founded in 1853 as a new Dutch Reformed congregation between the Langeberg Mountains and the Breede River, was named after Dr William Robertson, the Dutch Reformed minister at Swellendam. Three hundred erven were pegged out between the Willem Nels River and the Hoops River, and more than half were sold within two days! In the second half of the 19th century the town was noted for the manufacture of furniture and wagons – at one stage there were 17 wagon builders. Along with Stellenbosch, Paarl, Worcester and Graaff-Reinet, Robertson is one of the five country towns in the Cape richest in buildings dating to before 1900. It has always been characterised by leafy streets, hedges, and flowers and fruit trees amongst the houses – the quintessential peaceful country town.

Today the town and surrounds are best known for horses, wine and fruit. In June every year Robertson hosts the popular "Wacky Wine Weekend", and in October the "Wine on the River" event is held on farms between Robertson and Bonnievale.

McGregor, which cultural historian Dr Hans Fransen regards as the best-preserved of the historic "grid" towns in the Cape, was founded in 1861 not as a church town, but in the expectation that a pass would be built through the Riviersonderend Mountains from the Greyton side. The new road never materialized, and the settlement remained a "forgotten corner" (which also greatly helped to preserve its historic character). The new town was initially named after Lady Grey, wife of the Governor, but was renamed after the Rev Andrew McGregor of Robertson 40 years later when it finally became a separate congregation of the DR Church.

Amongst the thatched houses are a number of double-storey flat-roofed Georgian houses, all varying slightly in appearance, and built by the same man, one Van Eyssen. Many gardens featured plantings of bamboo, and the village was famous for its whipstock industry until about a century ago, when steam trains and motor vehicles killed the demand for whips to drive oxen and mules. More recently the village has become a haven for artists and other creative people enjoying the relaxed lifestyle.

Bonnievale was founded largely due to the efforts of one man, Christopher Forrest Rigg, who settled in the present-day Bonnievale area in 1900, where he bought up land and divided it into 5-acre plots. He also took on the task of completing the irrigation canal which had been started in 1898. Rigg brought in wooden aquaducts for raised sections, and used his experience as a blaster to create a tunnel for the canal through the intervening Olifants Hill. In 1901 he had a booklet published to attract people to the area, and when the ostrich industry failed in 1914, he had an agent in Oudtshoorn. Enough people arrived to spur further development, and by 1922 a town council was formed, and Bonnievale was declared a municipality in 1953 (the name is derived from Bigg's grandfather's home in Scotland).

Having previously already lost two daughters from his second marriage, a third daughter, Mary Myrtle, was born in 1903. She, however, died of meningitis in 1911 at age 7 and on her deathbed asked her father to erect a small church in her memory. He eventually complied by quarrying stone from a nearby hill to build a very attractive Norman-style church, with a floor of imported marble, where the first service was held in 1924.

Today Bonnievale is called the Valley of Wine & Cheese, with ten wine producers and two cheese factories. From Robertson to Bonnievale the road runs through verdant country, with the vineyards often framed by rose hedges and cannas.

Ashton had its beginnings in 1887 as a railway station named Roodewal, but, because the English-speaking railway offcial had trouble pronouncing the name, he changed it to that of his home town in England. By 1900, Ashton consisted of just a few buildings: the railway station, hotel, police station, a one-man school and a single shop.The town only really developed after the Langeberg canning factory was built there in the 1940s.

Today Ashton lies on the New Wagon Route – since the completion of the Huguenot Tunnel in Dutoitskloof in 1988, truckers on their way from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth prefer the route through Worcester and Ashton to Swellendam, rather than having to cross Sir Lowry's Pass on the N2. Ashton also lies at the entrance to Cogmans Kloof – the gateway to the Little Karoo.