“WHAT on earth was I thinking?” I gasp, as I look down toward our climbing guide, Finlay, who is yelling my name from the deck of the Cutty Sark and pointing a camera toward me.
“Smile,” I hear him call up.
I smile for the second it takes to snap his picture and then resume climbing toward my 12-year-old son, Harrison, who is high in the rigging above me, waiting to make his way out onto one of the ship’s yardarms.
While I’m climbing, the shaking in my legs is less noticeable, but once I reach a second instructor at the “tops” platform, it ramps up again and I explain to the instructor that I’m not particularly fond of heights.
“Yes, Harrison was telling me,” he replies.
I look up at Harrison, who’s now making his way effortlessly along the yardarm, approximately 75 feet above the ground. He’s in his element and yelling and waving at his mum and sister down on the deck below us.
A few minutes later he’s down and being attached to the final stage of his adventure, a controlled descent, very similar to an abseil, back to the deck. At least this means I get to move again, climbing to a third instructor, who’s waiting to cajole me out along the yardarm. I start to explain to her that I don’t like heights, only to be told that she already knows, courtesy of Harrison.
“Harrison says you’re climbing The O2 next,” she says to me, clearly sensing my terror as I edge cautiously along the rope while clinging for dear life to the wooden beam.
“Yes,” I gasp, in response.
“You can see The O2 from here if you look to your right.”
“That’s okay, can we just do the photograph, so I can come back?”
I smile, for the nanosecond it takes to snap the picture and then I’m inching my way back to my salvation.
There are lots of “well done” and “you did it” type congratulations from the staff as I make my way down, but my mouth is too dry to properly respond.
Back on deck, all the participants agree that the experience was amazing, and even I’m glad I did it now that I’m safely down.
We have a few hours to kill before tackling Up at The O2, so we explore the ship, then take a walk up to Greenwich Park and the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory, where the world is longitudinally bisected. Afterwards we explore the entertainment facilities inside The O2, finding a climbing wall, indoor skydiving and a large queue for Mama Mia! The Party.
We settle on Toca Social, a bar/restaurant with 17 private interactive football booths, where we get to shoot footballs at virtual targets on a screen - including zombies and images of each other’s faces. Balls are fired at us by a machine - like a tennis ball machine - and they disappear down a gutter after each shot. Individual difficulty levels mean the balls can come gently and slowly, or faster, higher and requiring more skill to control before shooting.
With the help of individual skill levels all of us manage to win at least one game. The winner gets a fanfare played, along with their picture on the screen and leaderboard, which Harrison and Ella revel in.
Up at The O2 has no sheer drops like the Cutty Sark, and anyone over the age of eight can climb, so Ella is delighted that she gets to put on a climbing harness and give Harrison a run for his money.
Once we’ve been through the safety briefing and are fully kitted up - including grippy footwear - we haul ourselves along the illuminated 380-metre walkway suspended above the arena’s roof. It’s a slower climb than I expected, and the walkway is pretty steep in places. It also feels a lot like walking on a trampoline, which is no doubt tempting to the kids, but we’ve all been warned on the safety briefing to avoid treating it like one.
By the time we reach the 52-metre summit we’re so used to the bouncy floor that walking on the solid roof takes time to re-adjust to, like getting off a boat does. The views from here are spectacular in all directions and I’m relaxed enough to enjoy them this time.
Our guide, Mark, is a jovial chap who clearly loves his job, and the area. He points out areas of interest all across the illuminated city including our Travelodge hotel and the Cutty Sark -where he works part-time and knows Finlay, who looked after us earlier. The blue lights of the IFS Cloud Cable Cars look particularly futuristic from here, hovering across the Thames at a ludicrously high altitude and Mark tells us that we can use these to cross the river and reach our Travelodge in the Docklands.
I’m about to say “no thanks, I hate heights”, but Harrison and Ella have already beaten me to it.
* Grand Central Trains are a great option for travellers in our region as they travel direct to London from stations that other operators don’t reach. There are four direct services on weekdays and three on weekends from Bradford to London Kings Cross, with handy stops in Low Moor, Halifax, Brighouse and Mirfield. A Friends and Family railcard gets 33/66per cent discount for adults/children. Students get 25per cent discounts or 50per cent with a railcard.
The Cutty Sark Rig Climb costs £55/45 for adults/children, while Up at The O2 starts at £38. Toca Social costs £12.50 per player.
The Travelodge London Docklands Central, directly opposite from The O2, has stunning views of The O2 and Canary Wharf and rooms starting at £37.99. Finding family rooms in cities is often difficult but Travelodge almost always have them available. The London Docklands Central is very modern for a budget hotel, has a great bar/cafe and - as well as spectacular views - their SuperRooms also include a Lavazza coffee pod machine, hot chocolate, chocolate treat and extra amenities.
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