 As the British force departed Orange River station, the 9th Lancers and Rimington's Guides conducted a reconnaissance from Fincham's Farm of the Belmont area, spotting several hundred Boers climbing up a kopje.Methuen reached Thomas' Farm, south of Belmont, a day later, where his vanguard was fired upon by the Boers.The Boer fire ceased after British artillery began shelling them, and the British force bivouacked at midnight, anticipating battle in the morning.