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British Airways London Eye
back to sights listingDo you want to see the panorama of London? Do you wish to see London from different perspectives and sides? The giant wheel, the fourth highest structure in London will give you the chance. This is a unique accomplishment of engineering and design. You will be able to have birds-eye views of the capital for over 25 miles in all directions, thus treating passengers to aerial views of such world famous sights as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster and Windsor Castle. A 135 meter high attraction is situated close to County Hall, over the Thames. The world's highest observation wheel, it provides a 30 minute slow moving flight over the capital. The nervous and faint-hearted may want to avoid these 30-minutes of slow-motion hover over the city, although you'd hardly understand you were moving at all. On a clear day you can take in a range of up to 40 km, viewing London's most famous places from a fascinating angle. In darkness passengers delight in seeing London's landmarks floodlit against the night sky.
British Airways London Eye was conceived and designed by David Marks and Julia Barfield Architects. The husband and wife team first attracted attention in 1989, the year the partnership was founded, when they won an engineering competition to design "a Bridge of the Future". The proposal was for an audacious single span across the Grand Canyon based on the structural principle of the spine of a dinosaur. Later, in Europe, they designed an innovative multi-facetted project for the World Sea Centre in the Bay of Toulon, featuring the Aquasphere, and imaginative and dramatic aquarium in the sea. Recent projects include an award-winning water sports centre in Liverpool, built within Queen's Dock, an aviation museum completed earlier this year in Riyadh for the royal Saudi Air force, and, currently under construction, the environmental transformation of Stoke Newington Reservoir in north London for public use. David Marks and Julia Barfield are both directors of the British Airways London Eye Company Limited.
Having worked more than seventy years in the design, management and fabrication of steel structures, Dutch company, Hollandia, took the responsibility for making the world's biggest wheel rim, using 1600 tonnes of British steel. As well as building the steel structures, Hollandia is also experienced in transporting heavy items by water, which has been crucial to the construction of British Airways London Eye. Each separate component part has been transported straight from Hollandia's waterside plant at Krimpen, by inland waterway, directly out to the North Sea, and eventually along the River Thames to County Hall.
All best engineers were gathered to build the British Airways London Eye's unique passenger capsules. A technologically advanced stability system has been developed to ensure a smooth ride and enable passengers to walk around freely. The large glass windows, which surround passengers, will ensure that the views are magnificent and cover all directions around, and because the capsules are mounted on the outside rim of the wheel structure, views will also be totally unobstructed. Each capsule rotates on a special device designed to keep everyone upright as the wheel makes a slow but progressive revolution.
Each capsule is also fully air-conditioned to keep its visitors completely comfortable no matter what the temperature outside. See the Gothic houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, The Tate Museum, Tower Bridge and not to mention the longest and most intricately styled stretches of the famous Thames River. You will not want to get off when the wheel stops at the end of your ride!
For safety reasons, there is a limit to the number of wheelchairs allowed on a flight at one time. They can accommodate a maximum of 8 wheelchairs per flight, but only a maximum of 2 in any capsule.
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Address: British Airways London Eye Jubilee Gardens London SE1, United Kingdom More Hotels in London: Langham London Astor Court Hotel Meridien Piccadilly Royal Garden Sheraton Park Tower Caesar Hotel Crowne Plaza Docklands |
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