Rhodes Memorial

Modelled after the arch at London’s Hyde Park Corner, the impressive granite memorial to the mining magnate and former prime minister stands on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Rhodes bought all this land in 1895 for £9000 as part of a plan to preserve a relatively untouched section of the mountain for future generations.

Despite there being a sweeping view from the memorial to the Cape Flats and the mountain ranges beyond – and, by implication, right into the heart of Africa – the statue of Rhodes himself has the man looking rather grumpy. Behind the memorial there’s a pleasant tearoom, the Rhodes Memorial Restaurant, in an old stone cottage. The exit for the memorial is at the Princess Anne Interchange on the M3.