Up at The O2

The O2 Arena, built under the former Millennium Dome, is the world’s busiest music arena and the United Kingdom’s second-largest indoor venue. The Millennium Dome was built to house an exhibition to celebrate the beginning of the third millennium and has also been used as a venue for the 2012 Olympic games.

The climb offers a unique viewing point from the summit of the O2 Arena, 52m (170½ ft) above North Greenwich.

The Up at The O2 experience

The Up at The O2 experience starts off with a 30-minute briefing where you kit yourself out in safety gear before going up three storeys to start the climb.

The climb up the walkway is on a 30º incline, which doesn’t sound that steep until you realise how bouncy the roof of the Dome is (it is essentially a really big tent, like a cross between a yurt and the biggest big top you’ve ever seen).

There is a small viewing platform at the summit of the Dome where you are able to unclip your safety harness and walk around. This is the point where you can whip out your phone and take some photos from this unique vantage point.

After a break at the top of the O2, it is time for the walk back down, which seems steeper than the climb to the top.

Overall, it is not really a scary experience as the safety harness makes you feel secure and you don’t need to be too fit to do the climb.

Visiting Up at The O2

The O2 Arena is located at the top of the Greenwich Peninsula and the closest tube station is North Greenwich (on the Jubilee line). The IFS Cloud cable car is the only other attraction within walking distance, although it is only one tube stop away from Canary Wharf and bus routes 129 and 188 run into the centre of Greenwich every eight minutes.

You need to be at least nine years old and at least 1.2m (3 ft 11 in) tall, not weigh more than 130kg (21 stone) and have a waist measurement no more than 125cm (49 inches).

The Up At the O2 experience may close when wind speeds exceed 64 km/h (40mph).

The experience takes 90 minutes including the 30-minute briefing session followed by around an hour of climbing on the roof of the O2 Arena, but you should also allow around 15 minutes to check-in before the walk as well as travel time to and from North Greenwich.

Prices for the climb experience range from £35 to £42 depending on how much demand there is the day you go. It is best to book online to ensure that you get the best price rather than buy your ticket on the day (when the cheaper tickets may have been taken).