Up At The O2
The O2 Arena
Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX
£36
Ever wanted to climb one of London’s iconic landmarks? Now you can. Once known as the Millennium Dome, the O2 building/tent/complex allows you to scale one of London’s best-known buildings and enjoy both some decent views, but also an original experience.
The experience from start to finish takes around 90 minutes, inclusive of watching the safety video, getting kitted up and attached to the walkway. I booked for a sunset walk on Thursday evening and to my surprise it was packed! In fact, when the guide walked in he exclaimed that he’d never seen as many people in that one room. Turns out my idea of a quiet personal walk was in reality a 30-person hike…
A total of 53 meters above North Greenwich, the initial walk and last decline are much steeper than I expected. Fear not, however, as they provide you with super stylish super grippy trainers (Tom loved them so much he wanted to take them home!) Safety is key for these guys, but whilst they accompany you 100% of the way, our group was so large that we hardly saw them. This didn’t matter though as you do feel secure for the duration of the walk and I’m sure if they heard a scream they’d come running.
The walk itself is bouncier than expected, and the viewing platform smaller than expected. We stayed up there for probably around 10 minutes, enough time for a few photographs and a chat with one of the guides who declared “If you are scared, just keep it to yourself” – a bit brutal but pretty funny at the same time. Of course, only I would book to do the walk on the hottest day of the year so far so it was pretty sweaty to say the least, despite the sun having gone down. Luckily, we didn’t have to wear full on jumpsuits, just a lightweight gilet which had pockets for your phone (the only item you are allowed to take up there with you).
Unfortunately, we missed the actual sunset, but the view was still lovely and sky lit up in various purples and oranges (apologies for the dodgy snaps, my I forgot my Camera and my phone’s a bit crap). I must admit that I was slightly scared on the final descent down (which you can see in my reflectively large pupils in the picture below) but you can cling onto the safety rope with both hands and make your way down as slowly as you wish. Apparently, it’s easier to go backwards but all I could think of when suggested this was a PGL trip I had in year 6 where I was asked to abseil and cried at the top until they let me down the steps instead. Never again.
Overall, climbing the O2 was a unique and fun way to see the city. Be warned, you can’t see any of London’s most sought after works of architecture, as they are all blocked off by the giants in Canary Wharf. You will, however, be able to see more of South East than you ever have before, whilst getting some (not so cheap) thrills.
OVERALL RATING: ****
https://www.theo2.co.uk/do-more-at-the-o2/the-original-expedition
