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Review : Flying High on the London Eye
London Eye
Location – Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7PB
The London Eye is a giant wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, when it was built in 1999 it had the distinction of being the world’s largest Observation Wheel. Originally known as the Millennium Wheel, it official title is the London Eye at various times being sponsored by British Airways, Merlin Entertainments ,EDF Energy and the new sponsor Coca Cola. The London Eye is 443 feet (135 metres) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394 ft (120 metres) and is one of the London’s most popular paid tourist attractions with over three million visitors per year.
The wheel has 32 sealed and air-conditioned passenger capsules which can hold a maximum of 25 people, each capsule is large enough to walk about in , although seating is available. The wheel rotates at 10 inches per second and completes its entire rotation in 30 minutes.
The slow rotation allows plenty of time to take in views over London especially the nearby Houses of Parliament. There is plenty of room within the capsule to get a variety of vantage points especially if you want to take photographs. The London Eye is situated next to the river and offers some spectacular views of the Thames in both directions.
In contrast with attractions like the Shard, the London Eye is constantly moving which changes your viewing perception over time. In each capsule there are a number of touch screen devices which will give you key information on landmarks that can be seen from London Eye as well as a 3D view of each sight.
The London Eye has become one of London’s most popular attractions and seems to appeal to all age groups and has complete access for disabled guests, all paying disabled guests can bring a carer free of charge.
If you are celebrating a special occasion you can hire a capsule and capsules are often used for special events, dining, wine tasting, champagnes and even weddings.
Either before or after your ride on the London Eye, you can watch the London Eye 4D Experience. It is a 3D film with a number of in-theatre effects, although only lasting a few minutes it is a spectacular, entertaining view of London with a few surprises for the audience.
Although a fairly modern addition to the London skyline, the London Eye has become a main landmark that is often at the centre of celebrations along the river. Its initial temporary status has been made permanent due to its incredible success attracting millions of visitors each year. On a clear sunny day it does offer a unique view over London, part of the fun of the leisurely ride is spotting the various famous buildings and other attractions of the capital.
VLG TIPs The London Eye is owned by Merlin Entertainments who own Madame Tussaud’s, London Aquarium and the London Dungeon, therefore if you want to go to more than one of their attractions there are significant savings if you buy a combination ticket. You can book tickets by phone, at the Box Office and online but is recommended to book tickets before arriving at the London Eye. If the queues are long, you may want to consider upgrading your ticket to a Fast Track.
The attraction is very popular and at its busiest during the months of July and August. They can also be busy during school holidays, Bank holidays and weekends. Their busiest time of the day tends to be from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
For more information or to book tickets, click here
Visiting London Guide Rating – Recommended
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January, we attract thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Review : Sea Life London Aquarium
Sea Life London Aquarium
Location – County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7PB
The Sea Life London Aquarium is located on the ground floor of the old County Hall on the South Bank of the River Thames. It opened in March 1997 as the London Aquarium and was renamed Sea Life London Aquarium in 2009. The Aquarium was taken over by Merlin Entertainments in 2008 and underwent a multi- million refurbishment. These changes have transformed what was once a dark and unexciting attraction. New attractions include a new underwater tunnel, Shark Walk, and revamped Pacific Ocean tank. In 2011 a new Penguin attraction was filled with penguins from Edinburgh Zoo.
Sea Life London Aquarium has fourteen themed zones over 3 floors, visitors start their journey with a walk across the Shark walk. This is a glass walkway above a shoal of sixteen sharks, including two striking 2.8m brown sharks and a group of 10 sleek black tip reef sharks. Further encounters with the Sharks lie within the Pacific display which spans three floors and dominated by a selection of imposing Easter Island Heads.
Although there are over 40 sharks from 12 different species, they represent only a small part of the thousands of sea creatures from over 500 species on display. Each themed section has a number of displays which features creatures, plants and foliage from various habitats from all over the world.
Sharks, Stingrays, Turtles, Octopus and Penguins are just some of the creatures on display, but there is plenty of variety and colour in the large number of tanks both large and small.
The Aquarium has a large number of creatures that are on the endangered list, many have been rescued and cannot be released into the wild or have been born and bred as part of conservation projects. SEA LIFE have a large conservation programme which concentrates on Breeding, Seal Rescues, Re-homing and Campaigns. The Aquarium also has an education section to educate the numerous schools that visit about the various conservation causes the Aquarium supports. Throughout the Aquarium are displays that show why certain creatures are under threat in the wild.
The Aquarium is especially popular with children and families because many of the displays make it easy for children to view and get close to the creatures, there are also opportunities to interact with the animals at public feeding, diving displays and touch pools. There is also series of talks throughout the day.
The size of the Aquarium is something of a surprise, it holds over 2 million gallons of water and fills three floors of the old County Hall. Visitors follow a route through the attraction but you can take your time as you wander through the various sections. Based in an entertainment section of the South Bank, it attracts well over a million visitors a year and in peak times especially July, August and school holidays can be extremely busy.
Opening Hours
Mon – Sun:10am – 7pm Last Entry 6pm
Visiting London Guide Rating – Recommended
VLG Tips – The Sea Aquarium runs a large number of 2 for 1 offers often through third parties ie Newspapers, this can offer considerable savings. The Sea Life London Aquarium is part of the Merlin Entertainment group which also owns the London Eye, London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds. If you intend to visit more than one of their attractions buying a combination ticket can offer discounts.
For more information and to book tickets, visit the Sea Life Aquarium Website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January, we attract thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
London Visitors 