Rhodes, Randlords and Royalty: walking tour and tea
Tue Dec 23, 10:00 - Tue Dec 23, 12:00
St. James Station
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Rhodes, Randlords and Royalty
Explore the scenic and historic mile between St James Station and Muizenberg Station in two tours this holiday season. The natural beauty and cool sea breezes of this stretch of False Bay attracted the rich and famous from the second half of the 19th century, and we will be able to admire two extraordinary houses designed by William Hood Grant (Stonehenge, where Crown Prince Paul and Crown Princess Frederika of Greece sheltered during World War II, and Watersgate, the residence of retail magnate John Garlick), Sir Herbert Baker’s Rust en Vrede (designed for Cecil John Rhodes, but ultimately built for Sir Abe Bailey) and Fred Glennie’s Casa Labia (the Muizenberg residence of Count Labia and his family).
Less grand but no less intriguing are Long Cottage, Yokahama, the Carnegie Library, the Post Office and Het Posthuys, and of course Rhodes Cottage itself, where we will pause for tea and cake and explore Rhodes’s legacy and influence on Sir Herbert Baker.
Your tour leader is Brett McDougall, Chairman of The Muizenberg Historical Conservation Society, and co-author of a survey of South Africa architecture, RSA365.
Date: Tuesday 23 December 2025, and Tuesday 6 January 2026.
Time: Our tour departs St James Station at 10h00. Take the train to St James Station to avoid the traffic!
Cost: R300 per person. This includes tea or coffee and cake at Rhodes Cottage.
Maximum number of participants: 20 on each tour.
Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a hat. A scarf helps to insulate against the south-easter!