Misty Cliffs, Atlantic Seaboard

Misty Cliffs is a little village that lies on the mountain and on the beach, divided only by Main Road, between Kommetjie and Scarborough, roughly an hour from Cape Town. Misty Cliffs has acquired its name for its, rather obviously, misty cliffs - it overlooks the wild and tempestuous sea, and is renowned not only for incredible days and beautiful beaches, but also for windy and wet days, depending on the season.

Misty Cliffs is something of a magical little hamlet that is also a conservation village bordering on a nature reserve, a wonderful place to find peace and quiet and a spectacular setting at the best of times. The beach is not very big, but lovely for walking on, and really close to the larger and far more popular Scarborough beach, which is popular with surfers. During peak season it can become a little inundated, but nothing like the very fashionable Cape Town beaches on the Atlantic Seaboard.

And once day visitors have left, the village of Misty Cliffs once again returns to its natural element of tranquility and serenity. In short, it is one of the few villages left in Cape Town that has managed to hang on to its original individual quality. Even Capetonians have been known to buy beachside holiday homes here, despite living half an hour away.

There is little of the commercial here. No restaurant or shops to speak of mean that you will have to drive over the peninsular to Sun Valley and Long Beach Mall to do your shopping, although you can eat out in Scarborough at the family-run Camel Rock. Not that this stops villagers, who love their home and wouldn't dream of trading places - it's a small price to pay.