London Eye
I went on the London Eye when it first opened in 2000, at the same time visiting the Millennium Dome - now the O2 Arena, another blog post about that later, and don’t remember much from it, going to London on quite a regular basis for some time now I often said I would revisit, so this year I did (it was also a rainy day so doing something undercover was appealing).
Opening on 9th March 2000, The London Eye is located on the South Bank of the River Thames, standing 135 metres tall it has 32 observational pods, having panoramic views of the London skyline, each holding a maximum of 25 people, it takes about 30 minutes for a full rotation. The nearest tube stations are Waterloo and Westminster and there is a nearby Premier Inn: County Hall.
The booking process was fairly easy, using the official London Eye booking website, I booked a multi-attraction ticket, booking London Aquarium at the same time. Through this website it is possible to select a date and time, and a wheelchair ‘time slot’ if needed, there are also discounts for carers (although I visited alone) - once you complete this process you receive confirmation via email, together with a link which allows changing of time if needed (there is a limit to how many times you can do this).
As I was in a nearby hotel I was early for my allotted time, however when I visited a representative to double check where I needed to be he let me on straight away, using the priority queue I joined the main queue halfway and was probably only waiting 5 minutes before I was at the front. During the queue there are opportunities to have photos, but I declined. When noticed by a member of the loading staff (the original person I spoke to spoke with the loading staff via a walkie talkie) I was guided to the front of the final line, they stopped the London Eye and using a small portable ramp enabled me to join, closing the door when everyone else embarked and the wheel started moving again. The ramp allowed smooth flat access and once inside the pod it was big enough to manoeuvre around, there were around 12 people in our pod, so it was by no means full, but this did allow us all to move around quite freely, other patrons were friendly and everyone was chatting and taking photos - there are some dedicated photo taking opportunities indicated within the pod, if you would like a certain backdrop i.e. The City. There was audible descriptions about what we were viewing along with the history, all in all the view through the panoramic glass windows was quite good - there was a railing going round the middle of the pod which could be problematic but I was able to lean a little forward and see underneath. There is also a bench situated in the middle of the pod and allowed room for quite a few people to sit. The movement itself was smooth and felt stable throughout. Once we had a full rotation we were back at the beginning at the process of disembarking was the reverse of before.
If you are in London, and want to see the views, whilst also having quite a unique experience I would highly recommend, the accessibility for my experience was great and the staff were friendly and helpful. Definitely worth a visit!