Located in a spectacular setting along Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, this beach is often referred to as the Cape Town’s most picturesque. Tigthly nestled in a historic valley with the Twelve Apostles Mountain range towering above it, it also features Little Lions Head and the Karbonkelberg Mountain further towards Hout Bay. This piece of wilderness that boasts its own surfing beach is also closely located to the famous Dungeons surf spot at Sentinel Peak, and is only 20 minutes drive out of the city.
The name Llandudno originated from its Welsh counterpart, named after the Welsh word for “Parish of St Tudno” – the first syllable of the word “llan” meaning parish. When Van Riebeek settled at the Cape he became familiar with the path lying below the Gevelbergen (Gable Mountains – his name for the Twelve Apostles). It was the cattle track used by “The Watermen”, a Khoikhoi clan who bartered with the Dutch, supplying the fledgling colony with its livestock. For centuries this land remained the stamping grounds of the “Strandlopers”, Khoikhoi who lived in caves along the coastline. The cattle track continued to be a rough path until Thomas Bain, famous for his construction of many mountain passes, started work on a coastal road linking Camps Bay to Hout Bay, which was completed shortly before Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 and the Victoria Road was born.
In bygone eras when leisurely drives in motorcars were considered a luxury, this unspoiled route below the majestic Twelve Apostles became popular. The route towards Hout Bay still offers spectacular views of Kleinkommetjie, the idyllic bay lying below the Victoria Road under the majestic gaze of Judas Peak, and still a popular lookout point today.
This suburb holds a national municipal freehold ranking in third place out of 5163 suburbs with average property values of R11.4 million, and is rated in second place in the municipal suburban ranking amongst 559 suburbs. Property turns over very slowly in this suburbs, as illustrated by owners holding onto high value investments, with only nine property transfers in 2010 with eight of those were valued at R12.2 million. Property professionals say this is for a number of reasons, including no available vacant land for development, and also because property values here increased steadily over the years since 2004 when average freehold properties cost R4.7 million and peaked at R12.1 million in 2008.
This exclusive lifestyle attracts residents who make no secret of their reasons for living here. This suburb offers its property owners the privacy and security of a remote location not within close proximity of busy roads or other suburbs. As a result, Llandudno residents have elected to commute to any facilities that maybe needed, such as schools, shopping malls, medical and other public amenities. Llandudno does however have one primary school which originated in the early 19th century with as little as 9 pupils until it was big enough to justify state funding many years later. Today it is a fully fledged primary school where children who live in luxury can also appreciate the simple things in life, such as walking to their own beach in a safe and secure environment. Other schools within close proximity are located in neighbouring suburbs such as Campsbay and Houtbay.