A few weeks ago we spent a weekend exploring North Greenwich. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express London-Greenwich, watched Keane perform at The O2 for their 20th anniversary Hopes and Fears Tour, and enjoyed exploring a new area the other side of London to where we live. The O2 is a great venue with plenty of places to eat, drink, shop and be entertained.

Up At The O2

Now the kids are older our days out are different. We look for experiences that we will all enjoy, even if it means pushing our comfort boundaries (mine!). On our last visit to The O2 we saw people climbing over the top of The O2. At the time there was a minimum age to do this but now the kids were old enough to try the experience. They both love climbing at our local climbing centre so I knew they would love this.

We booked our tickets online in advance and the whole experience took 90 minutes. We were blessed with gorgeous, sunny weather, which meant the climb would be worth the 360 degree view to see landmarks up to 15 miles away.

When we arrived we attended a safety briefing before being fitted for our climbing harnesses. I was also given a pair of walking boots as my shoes weren’t suitable. Then we made our way up the stairs to the starting point of the special fabric walkway. We clipped ourselves on to the walkway, which was suspended 2m over the building, and started our climb up.

Our group was quite large which meant it took a while for the whole group to reach the top of The O2 observation platform. It felt quite strange as the walkway had a bit of a bounce to it. You also had to move your clip along with you as you walked.

Groups set off every 15 minutes, so once we reached the top we enjoyed 15 minutes admiring the views and a drink before heading back down the other side of the building. We had two guides with us who helped with our clips and also told us facts about the buildings we could see on our climb. The weather was amazing which meant we were rewarded with great views over north Greenwich and Canary Wharf.

The walkway was 380m long and went up to a high point of 52m. There was also a fun incline of 30 degrees at the beginning and end which was a little tricky to get used to. Overall it was a fun experience and a great way to see London. Both the kids said they would do it again, I might just go and enjoy the shops whilst they do that next time!

There’s a small shop at the end which you can visit after you’ve taken off your climbing gear and returned your shoes. We also chose to purchase a couple of official photos, although we were able to take our phones with us.