Sky Garden Review, Tips & Hacks
Sky Garden Review, Tips & Hacks – Fresh back from a great weekend in London here are my tips for booking a visitor slot at the Sky Garden and having a good time when you get there. The arrival experience at the Sky Garden completely reminded me of the painful process of going through check in and security at an airport (not particularly pleasant) but, just like jetting off on holiday, it’s worth it in the end.
For a huge list of other family friendly things to do in London click here.
1 Price – Sky Garden Review, Tips & Hacks
Firstly, the good news, the Sky Garden is free. Yay! So my number one tip is don’t worry about the price.
2 You have to Book – Sky Garden Review
You can’t just turn up. Tickets are sought after, especially at weekends, so they get snapped up months in advance so get your organisational hat on. Book here.
Read our Guide to FREE Things to Do in London
3 Ticket Timings – Sky Garden Review, Tips & Hacks
Tickets are tied to a specific time slot and to a specific individual. Each visitor is allotted an hour within the Sky Garden unless you book a meal at one of the restaurants, which naturally may take longer. I’d planned to get two tickets for a Friday afternoon and then see which of my mates would come with me. This isn’t possible. You have to state the full name of each ticket holder when you book and they require to show valid ID to security when they arrive.
4 Mini Visitors – Sky Garden Review, Tips & Hacks
Children must be booked in too. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years of over. One adult may bring a maximum of 3 children with them. I contacted the SkyGarden to find out the ID policies for little ones and thankfully under 18s do not require identification.
Read our Guide to Visiting the Shard for Free here.
5 Think about your Luggage
I was heading straight from the airport to the Sky Garden but there’s a strict luggage allowance and no lockers so ensure your baggage not only fits their current criteria of bagggage size but also that you’re happy dragging it around with you.
6 Remember your ID!
7 Finding the Sky Garden
Don’t follow the street numbers as they make no sense whatsoever, just look up and find the iconic building and walk towards it. Secondly, the entrance isn’t even on Fenchurch Street, it’s round the corner, so ignore the street numbers and street name!
Read our Guide to Riding the Thamas Clipper boats here
Or you may prefer Tips to Visiting the FREE Natural History Museum
8 Over and Out
The building is also known as the Walkie Talkie building, and if you do get lost this name often resonates far more with locals than the Sky Garden when asking for directions.
9 Arrive Early
I arrived at my allotted time and saw a snaking queue at the door. As my paperwork said I’d been given an hour to visit I did worry that I’d waste fifteen minutes queuing but don’t panic. Once inside the actual garden I never heard or saw anyone rounding people up, there isn’t an armband system etc. or tannoy announcements so you’re trusted to stick roughly to your visit time. It was very chilled once you were inside.
10 Check the Weather
If it’s raining bring an umbrella, the snaking queue often goes right out the door into the wonderful British weather.
11 An Hour is Ample
Once inside the Sky Garden you’re free to explore the gardens and take in the views. An hour may not sound much but it does actually suffice so relax.
12 Don’t Expect too much Garden
To be fair the gardens aren’t exactly extensive, but it’s lovely to see greenery (any greenery) in such a modern building.
13 Don’t Expect Sunshine but Do Feel Safe with your Kids
The rooftop terrace offers great views of the city, London Bridge and fantastic views of the Shard. The terrace is covered and very safe for children so feel confident bringing toddlers to visit, but if you’d hoped to catch some rays having a drink on the open air terrace then this isn’t the place for it as terrace is, to all intents and purposes, completely covered and it can naturally be very windy due to its height, so I’d class a visit to the Sky Garden as an indoor activity.
14 Eat & Drink
If you haven’t booked a restaurant the Skypod is the place to grab a coffee, cake, salad or sandwich. It’s not overly expensive considering we’re talking about a key tourist attraction in the city of London. The cocktails are beautiful and delicious – including the alcohol free ones. The Skypod operates like chain coffee shop i.e. you queue, order, pay and collect your goods, there’s no table service. Therefore if you’re travelling alone or on your own with your children and you want seconds you pretty much have to abandon your seat/table, queue with all your coats/baggage and then find a new table so it’s worth trying to order what you want in one go.
15 Crowd Control
Due to the strict ticketing the numbers of visitors within the Sky Garden at any one time are regulated. This means there’s usually enough tables and chairs for everyone and the queue for the Skypod isn’t particularly long. It never feels overly crowded and there’s no such thing as a lunch time rush, which is always a relief in a busy city like London. Blankets are provided at the tables as sometimes the gusts of wind that blow in from the terrace are quite powerful and chilly, so it’s very snug to wrap up if required.
Bonus Tip – Charge your Phone
Lastly make sure you have your phone fully charged for taking photos. This is a wonderful spot, for free, in the heart of London. It could be a novel place for a hen do to kick start a weekend, a great spot for a proposal, I explored on my own (nae pals) and loved it, a school trip was visiting when I was there so it’s fantastic for youngsters and I’d thoroughly recommend getting the organisation in place to make this trip happen for you.
[And I’ll just say it again, remember your ID.]
For a huge list of other family friendly things to do in London (many of them free) click here.
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Woho 🙂
Great tips – it’s on my list for next time we are home #citytripping
It’s definitely worth doing, amazing views and lovely drinks too.
I didn’t even know this place existed. I’m going to send this link to my friend in London who’s always looking for things like this! #citytripping
So glad I showed you something new!
Wish I would have known about this sooner! We were in London last May and paid the hefty prices to go up the Shard 🙁 Wont do that again! #CityTripping
I posted about visiting the Shard for free recently. The Sky Garden takes more organisation but yes, the bottom line is it’s free!
ah yes I think I read that before!
This was my favorite find on our London trip. We had a nice coffee and cake and enjoyed the views. The kids thought it was amazing! #CityTripping
Great for all ages isn’t it.
I liked the views from the Sky garden!and it wasn’t full of ppl when I visited it too:) #city tripping
They keep the numbers just right don’t they.
The Sky Garden is high on my list for our next visit to London – great tips!!
This is so useful- I’ve not actually been yet but it’s definitely worth having the tips for when I finally get around to booking. Thanks for linking up with #citytripping
It’s the kind of post I wanted when I visited. Hope you can organise a trip soon.
I would love to be sipping a cocktail from Skypod and enjoying that awesome view from the top! Would remember to book before going! #CityTripping
Yes it does play into the favour of those who are organised. My poor husband has never been as he’s more a ‘spontaneous ‘ type :-).
Hope you get a visit soon.
Did you feel like going through all that was worth it for the experience? I’m quite surprised that so much was required to visited a garden, even a special one such as this. #citytripping
Yes. It didn’t take too long and i felt safe. There is something unpleasant about having your backpack scanned but hugely reassuring in other ways. Loved the space when I got up there.
Beautiful! I really wanna go there nest time I’ll visit London!! Thanks for the tips 😉
Umberta
https://thesecretlifeofanactress.blogspot.fr/
You’re welcome. I just wrote what I wished I could find online when I was trying to organise my visit. Hope you enjoy it.
We visited just after it opened. Fantastic views although I think the garden was still being planted at the time of our visit! #citytripping
You must have been early if the garden wasn’t planted. But with views like that you may not have noticed the soil!
Enjoyed this post with your very useful tips on visiting the sky garden. I look forward to visiting it on my next time in London.
It’s definitely something a little different in the heart of the city. Enjoy.
Looks wonderful – and even though you have to book ahead, anything free is always a major bonus!
I think tourists book ahead as they’re planning their London holiday, it’s us here in the UK or in London itself who get complacent! I love free too.
What a fascinating post and really helpful! I’ve wanted to visit Sky Garden for ages now, ever since it opened. I really should try book tickets soon 🙂 #citytripping
It’s actually a great place to catch up with a friend over a cocktail or two. I visited solo and loved it too. Hope you get your trip organised soon.
Thanks for mention. Appreciate it. I can’t link up this week as my posts are all rural – that’s the trouble with us Scots, always in the bloody countryside 🙂 Doesn’t mean I won’t take a peak, comment and do a wee be of sharing. Happy #citytripping.
I found the information very useful. Good to know what to expect and what you need to have on you.
Glad to hear it. It’s quite strict but great when you get there. And it’s free!
Thank you very much for great, helpful information! We’re hoping to be able to get tickets for our upcoming trip and now we know what to expect once we get there. The little pieces of info such as the fact that the entrance is around the corner, how much time to expect, that it isn’t very crowded etc. is all very helpful. It is also nice to know that we can actually sit down to rest a little bit if need be. Thanks again!
Glad to hear it. It’s an impressive destination, considering it’s free. The cocktails and cocktails are quite lovely too!
Nice blogs. it will help a lot while visiting the London and this garden. I want to suggest Sexy fish Restaurant | Vip Table London and have fun 🙂
I’m worried that I don’t know what Sexy Fish are 🙂
London’s latest rooftop spot has recently opened – 120 Fenchurch Street. The best bit? It’s free and you don’t have to prebook, just turn up! The rooftop garden is open in the summer months Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) from 10am until 9pm. With a nifty bit of technology you can also check in real time how busy it is.
One thing worth looking out for is down at ground level. The building has a spacious through-passageway to retain a historic link between Fenchurch Street and Fenchurch Avenue. It’s from here that you catch a lift to the roof. But before you do, look up.
There’s a digital art installation by Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier on the ceiling. It aims to act as a camera obscura bringing imagery from the garden down to the street. The best moment comes when the image flickers onto the roof’s live-stream, trained on Tower Bridge. People walk underneath barely noticing, but stop and stare when it grabs their attention.
Sounds intriguing. 🙂