Finding new perspectives in life is one of my favourite things to do. Whether it’s a different perspective on beliefs, politics, or just quite literally a new visual perspective, and Spinnaker Tower has one of the best locally.
The Spinnaker Tower opened in 2005 and was built as part of the Portsmouth Harbour Project. Since then it has become one of Portsmouth’s most notable landmarks and has attracted over 2.5 million visitors since opening. Its unique architecture and prime location mean that the views from the top are marvellous, overlooking not only the coast or the people of Portsmouth but the sea-forts, Portsmouth’s historic dockyard, the city centre and Gunwharf Quay. But the thing is, that whilst The Spinnaker Tower has been open since 2005…
I hadn’t actually been up it until this year.
Pretty dang terrible considering I live locally, eh?
So one afternoon I decided to rectify this, and got there just in time for sunset…
Unfortunately the clouds had other plans, but as I stood on the Sky Deck 100m above sea level with the clouds hiding our sunset view and wind blowing profusely, it was easy to get a sense of the sheer amount of work and skills which were involved with building The Spinnaker Tower. Especially when you consider that the space the Spinnaker occupies used to be the sea, and it’s thanks to 84 piles of reinforced concrete constructed into the sea bed, (and a touch more concrete for the above water level base!) that we get to enjoy those views!
There’s an array of things to do on a visit to The Spinnaker Tower including; High Tea, Abseiling, Sky-dining and walking along the glass floor…
And if you feel like you need a drink after, they’ve got you covered there to! Either with the bar and skydining events, or if you want to go straight to the good stuff then perhaps check out the brand new “Champagne Sunday’ events which The Spinnaker host on View Deck 1 with their pop up bar, bubbles and beautiful live music.
I was recently invited to the “Champagne Sundays” press day and I have to admit, champagne really isn’t my thing. I’m yet to find a champagne that my palette doesn’t consider immensely bitter (damn that sweet tooth!) but I’m determined to find one that I like—all in the name of research, of course!
For those who are so bubbly inclined you’ll be pleased to know that you will soon be able to savour the flavour with gorgeous views and live music on one of the Spinnaker Tower’s upcoming Champagne Sundays, which will be running regularly from June to September for the bargain price of £16 with a complimentary glass of bubbly on arrival. If you’d like to find out more about them, or the other things you can experience at the Spinnaker Tower, you can do so by clicking here.
But me? Well, I went for the views not the booze!
Buuuuut… it would appear that bad luck quite literally follows me around like a grey cloud because moments after I arrived, this happened.
Typical, eh!
So whilst my perfect Portsmouth sunset will have to wait for another time, I know that the Spinnaker is one of the places to go to capture it!
