Arrival at Monument Station
Hello and welcome to Jolly London, England. Today is Monday, July 15th. The time right now is 4:06 p.m., and I am at Monument Station. I just took the Circle line from Westminster to this spot. I also could have taken the District line, and this is my first full day here. I’m not entirely sure which way to head, but I am heading to the Sky Garden, and that’s a free observation deck.
The Amazing Sky Garden in London
Navigating to the Sky Garden
And here we have the Monument. Let’s see, so I believe I want to go this way. There are a number of observation towers or decks with views around the city, but this one happens to be free. The price is right. One of the catches is you have to book it several weeks to a month in advance, and we’ve got a window for 4:30 that says Sky Garden that way. But there is the building. All right, the walk sign clearly says don’t walk, but in Rome, or I guess in this case London, pedestrians push the signal, but isn’t it that we’re all just crossing?
About the Walkie-Talkie Building
So this tower was constructed between 2009 and 2014, and as part of the give back to the city, the developer was required to include this free observation deck. A lot of people refer to this building as the Walkie-Talkie. One thing I’ve noticed about London is that it’s certainly a bit quieter than Toronto, at least vehicle-wise.
Finding the Entrance
So we can follow this sign here. It says Sky Garden, go right at Fenchurch Street. So we are here, Woods of London, right around the corner. The Egg, there’s the Bank of England, and there’s a Boots, that’s like their Shoppers Drug Mart kind of place. I remember going to a Boots in Korea. There are certainly more informative videos on the city of London on YouTube. This is one I wasn’t planning on making.
This is my first video here. What I thought, we’ve got it booked, got the camera in hand, might as well go up and take a look. There we go, the Walkie-Talkie. So it looks like the entrance is just to the right. This is a bit of a business district, I would assume. I’m hoping to get to Canary Wharf at some point.
Entering Sky Garden
All right, let’s head into the entrance. Sky Garden is the highest public garden in London, and there are two bars and two restaurants. And it looks like we’ve found our line, so I’ll update the status of this, but I won’t record just standing and waiting in line. Looks like if you’re a walk-in from those countries, you might not need a ticket. Not really sure. Thank you. You are not allowed to take photographs or film. Press 35, 35, 35 now. Thank you, and welcome to the Sky Garden.
First Impressions of the View
There’s a cafe and bar. What is it you’re not sure about? I might have an adult beverage for myself after this quick tour. This is the Fenchurch Terrace. Here’s Canary Wharf straight ahead. I don’t see helipads either. River Thames. City Hall straight ahead, and there’s The Shard. Look at that military ship, which was Tower Bridge, which we were looking at earlier. It’s elegant up here. Nice bridge. That military ship is the HMS Belfast, and you can see many tube trains snaking around. So we are 35 stories up in the air. London Bridge straight ahead.
Meeting Fellow Visitors
Is it the DJI Osmo Pocket 3? It is, yeah, yeah. How is it? It’s good. All right, okay. All right, well, nice to meet you. Cheers. He’s very curious in the camera or about the camera.
Exploring the Observation Deck
The Houses of Parliament are off in the distance. I believe that’s where I was not too long ago. Oops, as well as the Tate Modern. I think that might be a museum off in the distance. I apologize, I’m not the most knowledgeable about London, but I recommend coming here. So let’s go check out what’s up here. The City Garden, City Garden bar, and a few restaurants are here. What a great spot. They could probably get away with charging a healthy admission for this place.
Iconic Landmarks Visible
St. Paul’s Cathedral. I have no idea, oh, that’s it straight ahead in the center of the shot. And I guess that leads up to one of the restaurants. That’s a, or it’s called Fenchurch public terrace. There’s the Gherkin, and I believe that’s Millennium Tower right next to it. It’s crazy; you have seen pictures and videos of many of these buildings online over the years, and getting to see them in person is always neat. Oh, that’s the Leadenhall Building. Shows what I know.
360-Degree Views
So you get a full 360 view of things here to look along the Thames. There’s another restaurant called Darwin. The Olympic Stadium is just over there. That says Canary Wharf. One Canada Square at least was the tallest building there. It’s that one with the pyramid-shaped roof.
Booking Tips
Yeah, if you are planning a trip to London, you can book the Sky Garden about three weeks to a month in advance and look into the restaurants if that interests you. PR crazy. I’m going to grab a few beverages. That is that. What a fantastic, entirely free experience. Do 100% be a trip here.
Dining Options
£8.15 for a pint. Got some other beers there. Here’s your baseline £8.50. There’s the restroom. I will finish up on this observation deck again, but I hope you enjoyed it.
Closing & Call to Action
Do let me know your thoughts and comments below. If you wish to support what I do, there are links to my Patreon and Blog website membership in the description. I have a Pinterest account at Sky Garden London, and a Super Thanks button appears below if you wish to say thanks that way. Anywho, thank you for reading. We’ll finish up with the view towards Tower Bridge, and as always, I will catch you in the next one.