A great present from Mark and Debbit was a trip to the top of The O2 (or Millennium Dome as many of us still informally call it). The marketing people call it “Up at the O2”. We followed it with a cable-car trip across the Thames, then a meal out that Lucy had won as a prize – then an early night before my London 10 Mile race in Richmond Park.
As we approach the Dome, you can see the string of people climbing the walkway that has been strung over the top of the big canvas tent of The O2.It was gently raining for much of the day, and the roof was properly wet, but fortunately it stopped for our climb.A group approaches the top, all safely clipped to the safety line.
We had a good few minutes at the top – some had prebooked champagne, but that’s not greatly to our taste and in any case seemed superfluous to enjoying the sceneLooking across the Thames to the mouth of Bow Creek, the tidal end of the River Lea.
A 360° panorama of the view from the top.This photo might look like it belongs near the beginning, but it is the final descent, and the steepest bit of the route – the equivalent section at the beginning gets a head start with the stairs, and here the scope for a lesser slope is constrained by the perimeter boundary fence. Although the surface was wet from rain, the combination of the boots issued and the ribbed canvas surface was excellent, with no feeling of slipping (with of course the safety harness to mitigate the effect of any fall).
A fabulous outing, thoroughly recommended – even in poor weather!We’d been hankering after an excuse to visit the Emirates cable-car across the Thames, and having to get from The O2 to Stratford was the perfect reason. A shame the weather wasn’t better, and rain drops have obscured some of the sculpture art in the river.The O2, once splendidly isolated at the end of the peninsula, now increasingly hemmed in by developments. I wonder what will happen when the canvas tent inevitably deteriorates.Heading for the western end of Victoria DockA last look back at The O2 before we head underground to return to Stratford for dinner and bed.
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