Plumstead, Constantia Valley

The fairly large suburb of Plumstead, just south of Wynberg, divided into two by the Main Road and the railway line, could easily be mistaken for the English village after which it is named - if a village is possible in the heart of London’s Greenwich or Cape Town. Regarded as the ‘Cinderella’ of Wynberg and Diep River, Plumstead is filled with homes built during the 1940s and 1950s and its residents are largely pensioners and young arty types who are buying up older homes here and transforming them into modern renditions.

Plumstead is a hotch-potch of tree-lined streets dotted with homes that still sport low walls and off-street parking that isn’t behind six metre fortifications. People walk their dogs here and stop to chat at one another’s front gates about the weather and latest news headlines.

The train station in Plumstead bustles in the morning as people commute in and out of the city, and it’s one of the few stations that lie almost in the heart of the suburb, which is possibly what contributes the most to its English village feel. That and the horse-drawn carts that grace the streets, as local merchants collect scrap metal or other household items rendered unnecessary by their owners.

The Main Road is dotted with antique and second-hand furniture shops where you can still find reasonable deals, although even they are beginning to succumb to the prices fetched further along Main Road towards Bergvliet, and Plumstead Fisheries is not only a local landmark, but serves the best fish and chips for miles around. Plumstead has good access to both the M3 and the M5 and getting to False Bay’s beaches is really easy from here. The suburb is also close to Constantia, Kirstenbosch and Maynardville theatre in Wynberg.