Days Out Family Life/ 1st September 2020/

Our trip to The Sky Garden, London

There’s not many places you can experience 360 degree views of London’s iconic skyline – but the city’s highest public garden, The Sky Garden, allows for just this – as far as the eye can see.

Situated in the city of London, The Sky Garden, is housed in the ‘walkie talkie’ building and is completely free to visit, yet must be pre-booked in advance. Now in its fifth year, you’d be hard pushed to find a more spectacular viewpoint; witness it amongst the greenery of the ferns and the fragrant herbs, the exquisite landscaped gardens, the many observation decks or just whilst enjoying a coffee, or fizz, in the open air Sky Pod Rooftop bar.

We have tried to book to go here on a few occasions but never managed to get tickets as it was fully booked (you can book three weeks in advance), but on our most recent trip to London we were lucky enough to finally get tickets for the four of us.

Armed with our pre-booked tickets, we waited in the socially distanced line and awaited being called in to our time slot. Upon entry we scanned our barcode, had a quick bag search and were shown the lift up to the 35th floor.

You don’t have to take in the breathtaking views with a rumbling tummy or a dry mouth though as there’s a number of places to get something to eat or drink inside. The Darwin Brasserie, on level 36, is a lively brasserie which serves seasonal British dishes (and is running the Eat Out to Help Out scheme throughout October). The Fenchurch Restaurant is contemporary fine dining with an award-winning wine list. The City Garden Bar is, as the name suggests, an all day drinking bar and then there is The Sky Pod, where we dined, does a range of hot and cold snacks as well as tea, coffee and a selection of alcoholic beverages.

I would have loved to have stayed longer but the security guard became like Arlo’s personal minder and after one too many dashes the wrong way around the one-way system – we thought we better leave…

It would be lovely to go back again when all of the restaurants inside are open as normal; the idea of a nice glass of fizz, some fine food and the views of the city in peace seems like a distant dream!

There is definitely a reason it’s #14 on Tripadvisors, best place to visit in London – and for no charge, it’s got to go on your must visit list.

We visited the Sky Garden as part of our UK ‘staycation’ you can read all about our night at The Shangri-La at The Shard here.