A visit to the Sky Garden

A few weeks ago I booked some free tickets for the Sky Garden and paid it a visit this morning. When I looked back at the last time I had been there, it was almost exactly two years to the day.

The Sky Garden is a public viewing area on the top of 20 Fenchurch Street or the 'Walkie-Talkie' as it commonly referred to. As long as you plan in advance you can normally book free tickets with specific time slots.

Using the decimated entrance, after going through the security checks which are thorough but are all done quickly and efficiently, you find yourself going up in a super-fast elevator to some pretty fine views of London.

The viewing platform looking out on to the south bank of the Thames is partially open to the elements. A high wall of glass makes taking photos without reflections a challenge - even with the use of a polarising filter.

HMS Belfast

The Shard

Our time slot was 10:00 and once up in the viewing area you are pretty much left to your own devices and can wander around at your leisure. There are bars and restaurants but suspecting they were outrageously expensive, we stayed clear.

Monument

A Police helicopter circled overhead and must have seen something of interest and then lost interest in it, as it swiftly moved on to something else.

Selfies seem to be the order of the day and unlike lots of things that are in vogue, the selfie was a phenomena not exclusive to the youth of today. Everyone from small children to pensioners were having a go, trying to create that perfect photo of look at me where I am and look at the view I have my back to!

The garden bit of the Sky Garden has come in for some criticism for not being much of a garden. I would say that this in a tad unfair. What do people expect so high up? Kew Gardens? It looked fine to me and I am just thankful it was all free.

Walking around to views of the Gherkin and Tower 42, a window cleaner or maintenance engineer was having training on being suspended via a harness over 100 metres above London. He looked terrified. I say terrified as he had the same look on his face I might have if our positions had of been reversed.

After completing a few circuits of the Sky Garden, taking lots of photo, locating London landmarks and trying to spot where I used to live and currently live, we called it a day.

If you are visiting London, the Sky Garden is well worth a visit. You can book yourself a free ticket via their website and if in advance there are lots of choices in terms of time slots.

Proviz Discount until 11th April

The lovely people at Proviz have advertised a 30% discount for pre-orders of their new REFLECT360 CRS Plus jacket.

The CRS stands for colour reflective system and merges their two best selling jackets The REFLECT360 Plus and the REFLECT360 CRS. The plus is a more breathable version.

At the moment they come in three colours - blue, green and red for men and a purple instead of green for ladies. Perhaps they might one day even make an orange version? (Hint, hint Proviz)!! There is also a 30% discount off their gilet versions of these too.

If you order before 11th April you will get 30% off the list price and you'll have it delivered to you in July.

Link to the CRS Plus jackets

The best thing for a cold? A bike ride!

Yesterday I was supposed to go on the Evans Windsor sportive that I had been looking forward to. Sadly I woke up with a raging head cold that arrived totally unannounced. Not being the sort who takes to his bed, I merely took things easy and didn't go on said sportive.

Rising early I thought I would go off for a little cycle. I didn't have any plan but decided to see where I fancied going once I had arrived in central London.

Initially I rode in Hyde Park and South Kensington but I soon got bored of this and decided to head east. The sun was up and it looked like it would be a lovely day.

I was also out testing a new camera and lens combination and I have to say I was very pleased with the results. This particular combination produces some stunning colours and apart from the odd bit of cropping, I have not altered the photos below in any way.

The north side of Tower Bridge where a few hotels are adjacent was awash with people who had either wet the bed, had been kicked out or were merely checking out early. You really have to have a considerably thick skin sometimes with tourists when they enquire about a strange orange bicycle that folds!

As I cycled further and stopped to take a photo a young lady jogger ran past. This lady was a quite incredible athlete! Her speed and endurance was astonishing. Those who know me will vouch that I more or less have two speeds - fast and stop. Despite this the lady in question was to eventually catch up and jog past me in the Greenwich foot tunnel when I pushed my bike along as cycling was not permitted!

Back outside the brightness of the sun was either illuminating buildings and brining out all sorts of colours or making things totally washed out.

While taking the picture below a man who was unfortunate enough to look just like Justin Lee Collins jogged past. Regardless of whether it was or was not I looked sternly in his general direction.

The Skyline looked to be doing a roaring trade and I really hope that it does stay put exactly where it is!

As I cycled along I shared the route with lots of other cyclists. There was one large group heading in the opposite direction and we called out greetings as we cycled past.

At the Thames Barrier cafe I took some refreshment before heading back to the O2 and North Greenwich tube, which is rather convenient to say the least.

The next few days I have off work and I do plan to go on the odd cycle ride here and there. I will of course be building up to another overnight night ride on Friday to the coast. I look forward to that greatly!