Task 6: Do the Glass Floor Challenge at Tower Bridge

This was kindly suggested by my friend Pauline, who doesn’t share my fear of heights.  Feeling a bit punch drunk after going down the giant Orbit slide, I thought I might as well make a day of it and tackle this challenge as well.  Looking up at Tower Bridge, what struck me was not so much the size but how much more attractive it is than the ArcelorMittal Orbit, as well as being functional.  I like a lot of modern architecture but the Orbit doesn’t do it for me.

There are actually two Glass Floor Challenges, although they are virtually identical.  You can see the glass panels if you look at the middle of the enclosed walkways in the photo on the right.  Ideally you’d want to walk across them when the bridge is raised – always a special sight - so that you are looking straight down into water rather than a combination of the river to one side and the road to the other.  However in the winter it doesn’t open all that often and when it does, it’s frequently in the evening when the Challenge is closed.

For anyone with vertigo, looking down onto flowing water is particularly difficult as it seems to upset your sense of balance almost instantly.  There were a few young people who were clearly struggling, while their friends – in a group of about 100 French schoolchildren – were cheerfully jumping up and down on the glass, to add to their discomfort.  It was crowded and noisy but they very politely cleared a path when they realised this ancient woman was approaching the edge and planning to walk across.  While I gingerly walked onto the glass and stared at the Thames below, and then lay down so that I could admire the view of the river in the mirror above, I realised one of the children was attempting a handstand behind me.  It really wasn’t possible to feel scared in those conditions, which was fine by me.

I reckon I got off pretty lightly with this particular task and am happy to be able to cross it off the list.  Incidentally if you wonder why I’m lying on the glass floor with my legs in the air (while Peter is beside me, taking a photo), it’s because one of the guides said it makes the effect more striking.  I’m not sure it does, but it was good exercise for my muscles as Peter’s camera had a hissy fit and I had to hold the pose for ages.  By the time I was vertical again, the French lad had given up on the handstand and was rubbing his head ruefully.