The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London – photos

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden in the Walkie Talkie tower at 20 Fenchurch Street has now opened to the public, so I took a stroll around yesterday.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The tower’s curious top -heavy appearance swiftly split opinion when it was announced,  and led to it acquiring the nickname of the Walkie Talkie tower.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Construction was completed in spring 2014, with the Sky Gardens opening last week.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and costing over £200 million, the 34-storey building is 160 m (525 ft) tall, making it the fifth-tallest building in the City of London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Entrance to the Sky Gardens is via an entrance on a pedestrianised stretch on one side of the block.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Visitors have to go through airport-style security to get into the lift, with metal detectors and bag inspections. You also need your passport or driving licence to get in.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Starkly modern and gleaming bright, I was mightily impressed when I got out of the lift at the top and walked into the cafe area, even if the finished product bears little relationship with the original renders:

The London Walkie Talkie, Fenchurch St crackles into life

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The views are spectacular – in some respects they’re better than those from the much taller Shard because you’re right in the middle of the city.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

St Paul’s and Telecom Tower.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Panoramic view across London.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

London Eye.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Gardens are on two levels, with another viewing area and restaurant in the top area.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Looking south.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The cafe is surprisingly affordable – coffee, cake and sandwiches are priced the same as any other regular cafe and the setting is truly spectacular: the only problem is that you need to book a pass every time you want to go.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Telecom Tower and Wembley Stadium.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Top deck view.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Top of the adjacent Cheesegrater skyscraper.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Old and new: Tower 42, Cheesegrater and The Gherkin.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Top of Tower 42 (formerly the NatWest Tower), which stands 183 metres (600 ft) high. Opening in 1981, it was the tallest building in the United Kingdom until the topping out of One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 1990. []

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Canary Wharf to the east.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Top of the Gherkin at 30 St Mary Axe, which boasts 41 storeys, and is 180 metres (591 ft) tall.

Designed by Norman Foster and Arup Group and was erected by Skanska, the building has become an iconic symbol of London and is one of the city’s most widely recognised examples of contemporary architecture []

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

River Thames view.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Looking east towards Canary Wharf.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Tower of London.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Looking down at the cafe area.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

There’s nowhere near as much greenery as was originally promised, but it’s still pleasant to walk around.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Winter shadows in the Sky Garden.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The restaurant.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Open Air terrace was not open, unfortunately.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Work was still going on at the roof, with several workmen scuttling around above.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The top of the Shard.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Relaxing in the cafe.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The cafe bar.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

A Chinook rumbles past.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Looking south with the St George Wharf Tower to the right.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

Bridges across the Thames.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

I took one more circuit of the Sky Garden – here’s the rest of the photos.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

In 2014, reflections from the curved building started fires and caused damage to nearby businesses, and, famously, managed to melt parts of a parked Jaguar car.

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London

It’s free to visit the Sky Gardens, but you need to book a slot online (it’s currently fully booked until March 2015).

More: Discuss the Walkie Talkie tower and sky gardens on the urban75 forums.

2 Comments on “The Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie tower, 20 Fenchurch Street, London – photos”

  1. Greaaaat pictures! Tho I guess it’s really crowded now as it opened few days ago. Maybe it’s a better idea to go in 1-2 months when things settle and you can enjoy this place’s charm. It’s not a park but still.. they did nice job there.

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