A new look ...

... Or, a different view of London

Recently I went on the London Eye with my friend Ash and my dad. In the unlikely event that you haven't seen or heard of it, the London Eye is a huge ferris wheel 450 feet high (or 135 metres if you prefer), from which it is theoretically possible to see all of London. It weighs 1500 tonnes and it is situated on the south bank of the River Thames, a stone's throw (or thereabouts) from the Houses of Parliament, and visible from almost anywhere in Westminster. Upon arriving, you must wait in a long queue which dissipates surprisingly quickly. Soon, when it is your turn to get on, you stand on something which is like a gently curving train platform that follows the shape of the wheel itself. As one of the 32 capsules approaches, the doors open and the previous inhabitants emerge, some looking a little dazed! The capsule, which on closer examination turns out to be much larger than it looks, crawls towards the 'departures' end of the platform. Everybody files in, with the capsule never stopping, the doors are closed, and it continues upwards. The day when I went was incredibly hot, and the air-conditioned capsules are in theory a Very Good Idea. However, by a quarter of the way round, the temperature inside was already very high. It is annoying that health and safety requirements mean the capsule must have no windows that open.

The main reason why most people would go on the Eye is because of the view. When I went, the air was not particularly clear, as is often the case in London. From the very top, you can undoubtedly see a long way, and you do get a new look at the capital city. I was surprised that the Eye looks a lot taller than it feels when you are up at the top. It is less scary to look down more than 135 metres from the top than it is to look from the top of a 5 metre diving board at any swimming pool!

The 30 minute ride, or 'flight', as they call it, finishes when you get back to ground level, from where you walk down a walkway similar to where you queue, where you are handed a leaflet saying how good the Eye is and why you should come back. Once I got out, and realised that it hadn't tried to teach me anything, I was relieved. I would recommend it, because even though it wasn't as scary as I'd hoped it would be, you have to try it at least once.

loz's view from the london eye