About St James

St James, False Bay

The little seaside village of St James lies just past Muizenberg en route to Kalk Bay, set against the mountain with incredible sea views and one of the prettiest little beaches.

St James' beach - of the colourful beach huts - also has a large tidal pool, is very popular with locals, and in summer holidays is packed with a variety of people and their children. This is largely because the beach is so well sheltered from the notorious winds of Cape Town, but also because it offers safe swimming and is conveniently close to the Simons Town train line.

The residential suburb, very close to Rhodes' cottage, is much sought after and many of the homes date back to the time when the Cape was a colony of the Victorian empire. St James is named after the St James Roman Catholic Church, built in 1858 for the Filipino fishermen of Kalk Bay, just up the road.

Danger beach, the other little beach of St James, was used in the whaling industry during the early 1800s, as a place to haul carcasses. Kalk Bay is within walking distance and offers a further delightful ambling opportunity, through cobbled streets and a main road lined with an eclectic mix of antique and bookshops, restaurants, coffee bistros and clothing boutiques.

Boyes Drive, which runs up above St James, offers further magnificent views over False Bay and is a wonderful spot from which to spot whales in season.