Activities Covid-19 Outdoors

A socially distanced visit to Sky Garden

There's a garden in the sky with cheap coffee and panoramic views of London - and it’s free to visit.

The Sky Garden opened in 2015 at the top of the Walkie Talkie building and has received mixed reviews ever since, this writer still advocates that it is a fun way to see the city and there is no cost (so you literally have nothing to lose in that respect). If you like architecture, you will get an unobstructed view of a lot of London landmarks from the 34th to 37th floors so it is an interesting way to see places like St Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard, HMS Belfast and even Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

You can walk around on the outside terrace and see the views from high above or take a gander through the whole Sky Garden to get a 360 degree view of the whole city. It is pretty breathtaking if you like a good view. Whilst taking in the panoramic vista of the city you can enjoy the tropical plant paradise that surrounds you.

You can expect the usual post-lockdown social distancing measures in place – reduced visitor numbers, floor markings, a one way system and plenty of hand sanitising stations and sparkling clean toilets. Otherwise it is pretty much business as usual. 

Some of the restaurants remain closed at the time of writing but the coffee shop is open and serves surprisingly affordable coffee. On our visit we brought some snacks (the joys of toddlerhood) and the kids had fun playing around with cars and taking in the views (we went around the one way system a good few times.)

There may not be any live music or yoga sessions running at the moment but the Sky Garden is still a fun way to enjoy London from above. Plus it is free and the staff are really friendly.

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