Mudpie Fridays >> Gardens >> Sky Garden London – Read this before you go

Sky Garden London – Read this before you go

Plan your visit to the Sky Garden Walkie Talkie Building. I’ve been intending to visit the Sky Garden in the Walkie Talkie building now for about three years however, for one reason or another, we never quite made it to the rooftop gardens. Although we are often in London, normally by the time I think about booking it has sold out. However, last weekend we did actually manage to visit the sky garden in London for the first time. If you are thinking of doing the same this blog will tell you everything you need to know before you arrive and before you book!

Table of Contents

How to get free tickets for the Sky Garden

You do need to be on the ball when planning your visit to the sky garden. As tickets become available on the Sky Garden website up to 4 weeks in advance. They are extremely popular probably because they are free. For this reason, you do need to plan your trip and make sure you get online to book your tickets as the booking opens. Alternatively, you can book a table in the bar if it is open or in the Darwin Brasserie Restaurant. This will also allow you entrance to the sky as both sit within the Sky Garden.

How to get to the Sky Garden?

The Sky Garden is located in the financial district in the city of London near Fenchurch Street. I use to work in the Gherkin which is a few minute’s walk away as is Leadenhall Market. It is around a 20-minute walk from London Bridge mainline tube and national rail station, where you can find the Jubilee line. Alternatively, you can get the DLR to Tower Gateway close to the Tower of London. This is around 10 minute walk away. Tower Hill tube station is located in the same place and gives access to both the Circle and District lines.

The top floor of what is affectionately known as the walkie-talkie building it’s not difficult to spot. You can spot it pretty much from whichever direction you are coming from after all it does actually looks a bit like a walkie-talkie. You can also see the large area on the top floor which is where the Sky Garden is located.

Use the address – The Fenchurch Building 1, Sky Garden Walk, London EC3M 8AF

Arriving at the Sky Garden London

Our tickets were booked for 11 am in the morning. However, we arrived around 10.30 am I was pleasantly surprised that they managed to let us in without checking tickets. Even though we were half an hour early. I do not think this is commonplace on the basis that when we left the queues were around the building. And there was someone scanning tickets by this point. Maybe we were lucky because it was a Sunday and it is not so popular first thing.

Even though I told the lady that our tickets are for 11 o’clock we were told to join the short queue waiting to go through security. You need to go through an airport-style security gate to get access to the Sky Garden This is quite a slow process which could count for some of the queues.

Have gone through the airport security. You simply enter a lift which takes you up to the 35th floor. There are two lifts each takes around 12 people. There’s not a lot of indication or control in this area. Therefore you do need to be mindful that these lifts are also the ones that people come down in.

The Sky Garden itself

The lift will bring you out into a large room which takes up pretty much the whole floor top floor of the building. On each side, there is a set of steps which take you up around the back. Between the seating area and the staircase is where the garden is located. With various different types of tropical plants, including trees, ferns and birds of paradise. In the centre of the floor, there is a bar and coffee counter.

When we visited, there seem to be a natural route around which was to turn to your right and follow the steps up and around the back of another bar area. Here you can look out over some of the other financial district buildings such as the Gherkin, Cheese Grater and the Scalpel. Then you follow the staircase back down again into the main seating area. Past amazing views of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge as well as the many green roofs of the city.

The various points across the glass there are key landmarks identified with little stickers. Giving you an indication of what you’re looking at in the spectacular view. We visited quite early in the morning and it was still quite misty although bright. This did definitely hamper our photos a little. And also because you cannot get that close to the glass it is difficult to get pictures without reflections of the metal handrails and other people.

Café and Drinks in the Sky Garden

One of the things that I really liked about Sky Garden it was quite a relaxed atmosphere an ideal location to spend a Sunday morning. There is plenty of sofas with brightly coloured cushions with small coffee tables located in the main area. Many of which were in the sun which was nice, especially in January. There are also some more upright tables for those that would prefer them and as well as the bar and area where you can get coffee and cake.

When we visited there were many people lounging around having a chat and enjoying the sunshine in which can only really be described as a pleasant environment. The cafe and bar in the centre is not one you need to book in advance. Although you can make a booking in the Fenchurch Restaurant and Sky Pod bar via the website if you would prefer.

We opted for four soft drinks which came to around £15 for two bottles of sparkling water, a coke and an apple juice. I did not check the price of alcoholic beverages but looking online expect to pay £14.50 for a cocktail, £15 for a gin and mixed and £7.25 for a 500ml bottle of beer.

Outside Terrace

At 11 o’clock, the outside terrace opened giving a view of the shard. If the Terrace is not open when you visit you cannot get close to the glass easily to take a picture of that side of London. They have strict rules on no selfie sticks allowed out on the terrace and they were actively telling people to remove them. And you’re not allowed to take drinks out there for obvious reasons.

How long do you need at the Sky Garden?

We spent about an hour and a half in total going through security and going up sitting and having a drink. Looking around and enjoying the outside terrace. However, we did not have to queue for more than a couple of minutes to go through the security area. If had not stayed for a drink then I think we would have been done in well under an hour.

In theory, your tickets for the Sky Garden Walkie Talkie building are only valid for an hour. However, there was nobody checking the timeframes on tickets when we visited. This may happen later in the day, as when we left the queues to get into the Sky Garden were around the building Left around 11.45 am. And at this point, they were actively scanning tickets.

Top tips for planning your visit to the Sky Garden

Book tickets well in advance.
Aim for earlier morning slots, if possible to avoid the bigger queues that happen later in the day. Especially when visiting with children as there is not a lot to look at while standing in the queue!
If you are considering trying to catch sunset Sky Garden, then it would make sense to book a table at the bar, or in the restaurant to ensure this is possible. As those people with bookings join a separate queue and go through a separate process from what I could gather.
We saw several people who had bought their own food and drink into the Sky Garden without issue.
If visiting the children, you may want to pack something to keep maintained as once the initial excitement of the plants and the view has gone they can get a bit bored. This way the parents can enjoy some relaxation time and there is plenty of tables and chairs for you to be able to set up a small travel game or similar.
Pictures can be limited on the basis of the reflections in the glass, especially when the sun moves around as you can’t quite get close enough to hold your phone up against the glass.

Our visit to the Sky Garden

We had a lovely time in the Sky Garden. I’m glad that we finally managed to go. However, it’s probably the sort of place that you only go to once. Unless you want to go for a specific party or get together or celebratory meal. I’ve written a blog post comparing the shard to the sky garden and out of the two. I think the Sky Garden wins on atmosphere and is probably more of an appropriate viewpoint for children. Plus the fact that it’s free means that if the children decide they don’t want to play ball it is not so bad.

Have you been to the Sky Garden London? Let me know your experiences in the comments below.