Comfort and a dash of history in Njoro cottage

Family? Yes, we came to appreciate the togetherness of Andrew Nightingale, the owner, and his staff. It is a happy place. Paradise? That’s a big word. But it’s their paradise. And that immediately fascinated me.

The Kembu Cottages and Campsite was created by Andrew as part of a dairy farm owned by his father, Bruce. I have been there before. It was 1993, when George Mbuggus, then Managing Editor of the Nation, asked me to write an article about a European family that had stayed on after Independence—and whether they thought they had made the right decision.

He recommended the Nightingale family in Njoro. So, I went to meet Bruce and his mother, Barbie. They had a very successful dairy farm, and Bruce was also the leading racehorse breeder in Kenya. No doubt, they felt they had made the right decision. Into his 80s, a few years ago, Bruce said he was going to retire, but he has only reduced his herd of Friesian cows and he still breeds horses.

Step back in time? Yes, we did. We had booked the Cobb Carriage because we thought it would be fun to spend the night in an old and refurbished railway carriage. But Evangeline, the receptionist, pointed out that its bathroom and toilet were in an outhouse and we might prefer one of the other larger eight cottages.

She suggested that we should have a look at the Beryl Cottage that had once been the home of the young Beryl Markham. Never mind its other attractions, that association was enough for us to say “Yes” and “Thank you very much”.

You may remember that Beryl Markham, aviator, horse trainer and high liver, was the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo, from east to west, from Britain to America.

Her autobiography, West with the Night, was among the many books in the cottage. In the well-crafted Kembu Cottage’s website, Andrew has written about her—I’m sure it must be Andrew. It seems, though beautifully written and praised by reviewers, Beryl’s book didn’t sell too well and soon went out of print.

However, years later, Ernest Hemingway wrote this letter: “Did you read Beryl Markham’s book, West with the Night? She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen.

“But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade b***h, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers … it really is a bloody wonderful book.”

As Andrew notes, “Hemingway had it successfully republished. It was a huge hit, and provided enough income for Beryl to splash out over her last four years and live in relative comfort”. I have several other stories about Beryl, but I had better get back to my review of Kembu Cottages.

Comfort was certainly what we enjoyed in Beryl’s Cottage. Dinner was brought to us there in the evening, after a quite dramatic storm. We ate it as a log fire was being lit. Afterwards, we admired the many paintings and photographs on the walls, browsed the bookshelves and then read in cushioned armchairs by the fire until it was time to go to bed.

That afternoon, we had visited the Kenana Knitters, a project headed by Bruce’s wife, Paddy. It is a marvellous enterprise, making a wide range of woollen toys that are sold in many countries around the world. We were told that exports make up 90 per cent of the products. Kenana Knitters now has over 500 registered knitters, 200 spinners, 14 permanent staff in wool dying, adminstration and product development.

We were shown the dyeing of the wool, in a number of natural dyes. And we chatted with women who were knitting the various toys. We bought a couple for our little granddaughter for when she comes to visit Kenya in a few months.

On a less happy note, we heard that US President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff programme is already affecting sales to the US; up to recently, they could export to the US goods untaxed up to the value of $2,500, but now the ceiling is $800.

Otherwise, we experienced the peace and tranquillity in homely surroundings promised in that welcoming letter. After a real farm breakfast in the Pioneers Restaurant—mango juice, fruit platter, cereals, bacon and eggs, toast, raspberry jam and hot coffee—we had time to look around. The grass of the Kenana Farm was lush; the cows looked well fed; the horses looked lithe and sprightly; the farm dogs were boisterous and friendly.

Andrew invited us for a coffee and a talk before we left. It was a long and fascinating one. We learnt that he had taken media studies at the University of Humberside in the UK. So, along with his role at Kembu Cottages, he has engaged in several consultancies for film crews, particularly identifying suitable locations in Kenya. He is also a fish expert; his boat was in the garden—he tows it for sailing on the lakes. He is writing about Kenya’s indigenous fish.

About six times a year, Andrew takes senior pupils from surrounding schools on a hike in the mountains. Around the campfire in the evenings, they talk about what is going on in the world and in themselves.

“How would you describe yourself?” I asked Andrew. “As a professional hobbyist,” he said with a laugh.

Kembu Cottages and Campsite is a very special place. One day, I hope I will be able to put to Andrew the sort of question that I put to his father and grandmother 32 years ago: Are you glad that your family stayed on in Kenya after Independence?

John Fox is Chairman of iDC. [email protected]