The View From The Shard

The weather was as beautiful as it comes. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen and the sunshine was warm. It was a good day to go up The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building.

As I crossed London Bridge, its sharp point, glinting in the sunlight, emerged majestically from behind the buildings surrounding it.

I entered the building, negotiated my way through the airport-like security and made my way to the first lift. It sped so fast to the 33^rd floor that my ears popped. From there we were directed around to the second lift, which, ears popping again, whisked us up to the 68^th floor and the first viewing platform.

 

Every outside wall was floor to ceiling glass, providing an uninterrupted view across London in every direction. In the far distance I could make out green fields beyond the city. Closer, was The Tower of London surrounded by a green moat, Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast. In stark contrast, the nearby Gherkin and other oddly shaped new office blocks grew out of the undergrowth of smaller buildings, and still managed to look small from so far above.

I was amazed at just how much The Thames twists and turns. To the east, along several bends in the river, was the Canary Wharf building and, another twist later, the tiny blocks of The Thames Barrier.

In the other direction, I struggled to find St Paul’s. It was buried among buildings that are taller than the cathedral. When I finally spotted it, it looked quite snug and settled in its cubby hole. Further west I saw The Post Office Tower and the Wembley Arch.

Going anti-clockwise around the platform, the river disappeared west into the city, then reappeared briefly with a tiny London Eye. I continued round to the vast number of railway tracks feeding out of London Bridge. Then I was back at the river.

I took the lift up a further four floors to the 72^nd and the open platform. Of course it was only open at the top. The glass walls still rose above head height but there was a welcome breeze. Looking up, the centre of the building grew another thirteen storeys to the ninety-fifth. Each level smaller than the one below, until they ended in a point resembling a shard of glass, giving the building its name.

I was impressed. Not so much with the building, but with the scale of the panorama. It had been a glorious view on a glorious day. I had seen it at its best.