London Visit: Sky Garden. It was Homeboy’s birthday, so I organised tickets to the Sky Garden located at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street in the Walkie Talkie building. If you’re looking for free things to do in London or the best views in London, book your free tickets now!
View of Walkie Talkie From Across The River Thames
Sky Garden Views and Public Gardens
20 Fenchurch Street is fondly known as the Walkie Talkie because of its unique shape which is wider at the top than it is at the bottom. This 38 storey building was designed by Rafael Vinoly. It is currently the fifth tallest building in the city of London.
Walkie Talkie Close Up
After you have queued up and gone through the airport-style security, you take one of the two lifts up to the Sky Garden on level 35. As soon as you alight the elevator, you’re inside an amazing glass covered metal structure. This is a three-storey space with an open-air terrace, observation deck, landscaped gardens, bars and restaurants.
Bar Area and Open Air Terrace
The views across the City of London are stunning. You can go out onto the open-air terrace. There is a glass shield up so you may get a bit of reflection on your images but hey, this is a free view so just enjoy it. Head up to the upper levels through the landscaped terraced gardens and you can see more of London from the back of the building. You also get views from both sides of the staircases so the view is 360 degrees. The observation deck is perfect for a rainy day when the open-air terrace might not be so appealing!
Tropical Garden and Observation Deck
The garden is tropical and lush designed by landscape architecture practice Gillespies. You might catch a mist of water being sprayed over the plants while you are there which took me by surprise! Flowering plants include African Lily, Red Hot Poker and Bird of Paradise. The garden is terraced with benches where you can sit down and nestle inside the greenery and pretend you’re on holiday.
Sky Garden Restaurants
You can combine your visit with a meal at a top-notch restaurant or go for a more casual drink at one of the bars. Check the dress codes to ensure entry.
1. Fenchurch Restaurant: West-facing rooftop restaurant with a private dining room serving British contemporary cuisine.
2. Fenchurch Terrace: Situated in the Sky Garden on level 37 with amazing views serving small plates and sharing plates.
3. Darwin Brasserie: Located on level 36 with views over the River Thames, dishing up British food throughout the day including breakfast.
4. City Garden Bar: You can drink and eat while surrounded by the gardens, order seafood, meat, cheese, vegetarian or dessert platter.
5. Sky Pod Bar: Order a hot or cold drink and snack on sandwiches, pastries, cakes and more.
Sky Garden Information
View of Shard From Open Air Terrace
For more information go to the Sky Garden Website. The Walkie Talkie building is located at 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 8AF. The tickets are free which you need to book online. There are limited spaces, so you do need to organise in advance. They do have some tickets for walk-in visitors during certain times which you can find out about at the website. Time slots are limited to one hour. Public ticket hours are Monday to Friday from 10 am until 6 pm and weekends 11 am until 9 pm. This is a must for anyone visiting London and for everyone who lives in this amazing city.
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs: Homegirl London. Thanks: Homeboy for visiting with me.
