Kenya has many attractions and one of them is the rich history of its settlers. In all these stories from the life and times of these henchmen, a story is worth telling and retelling as many times as possible. It’s the Happy Valley getaway in the Aberdare region. There is talk of the Happy Valley Set. The whole of Happy Valley was a group of privileged British settlers who lived in Wanjohi Valley, near the Aberdare mountain range, in the Kenyan colony. It was they who dedicated the economic policies in Kenya and most of the time in their favor. But what makes this happy valley town famous is its notorious lifestyle with drug use and promiscuous sexual encounters.
The group activities on the Happy Valley set have been featured in books and movies around the world. They include; ‘White Mischief; ‘Earl of Enroll’, ‘Child of Happy Valley’, ‘Sallyport Papers’ Wanjohi Valley, the heart of the whole Happy Valley, is near Aberdare National Park, east of the Great Rift Valley. One of the prominent landmarks of that set is Delamere Estates, originally owned by the peculiar Lord Delamere, it is the farm that almost engulfs the town of Naivasha. Some members of the Happy Valley group lived in the Gilgil region, a few kilometers from the city of Naivasha.
Happy Valley history
In the early 1900s, the Kinangop Plateau (after the construction of the railroad) served as the headquarters of “Happy Valley”; a community of settlers that included many titled aristocrats who were expelled from their native England and came to settle in the Kenyan colony. They were granted loans to buy land on very easy terms. They built stone brick houses on the plateau and raised sheep and cattle on their vast farms, frolicking and fornicating. The parties were held in rotation from house to house. Particularly in “Clouds”; immortalized in numerous books and even in a Hollywood movie.
Happy Valley Tour
Visitors to Kenya are welcome to take a tour of this happy region. The tour takes you to the Kinangop Plateau in The Happy Valley. They circulate around Kipipiri visiting the homes of Happy Valley residents. The tour begins at a restaurant in Nairobi, The Lord Enroll Restaurant, with morning tea, after which you are taken by bus and driven to the first house. The Guide will begin with an eccentric account of the lives of the Happy Valle set. Noteworthy are the houses of Alice De Janze, which is now a local school: Happy Valley School. You will also see the home of Patricia Bowle which now belongs to the Catholic Church. You will drive through the Aberdare forest and enter the elephant corridor to Kipipiri; you will enjoy magnificent views all around you. The tour skirts Kipipiri to finish at Clouds, where the murder of Lord Errol is discussed over a drink in the dining room after a visit to the infamous Idina Bath. The tour guide leads through all the current conspiracy theories about who killed Lord Errol, the Delamere family story, and the third Baron’s involvement in Happy Valley.
The Guide also talks about other historical facts and stories about Karen ‘Blixen’s meetings in Happy Valley, the Muthaiga Club and the history of the English in Kenya, as well as what is currently happening in and around the Kinangop Plateau. After the tour, the visitor returns to Naivasha for a sumptuous three-course lunch and free time around the lake and river. Afterwards, the visitors returned to Nairobi arriving in the late afternoon.
Anyone interested in Kenyan history and perhaps anyone who has read or seen the above books and movies will demonstrate the need to visit this eminent “Happy Valley”.
