Emirates Spinnaker Tower Portsmouth Review
Reviewed by Angela Paull
If you live on the South Coast the chances are that you’d be more than familiar with the Spinnaker Tower. The 170-metre-tall structure is the most dominant feature of Portsmouth harbour.
It’s situated within Gunwharf Quays – an outlet shopping/leisure centre that is situated on the waterfront. It’s a busy area so if you are travelling from outside the city I would recommend using the Park and Ride to get to the tower. It’s quicker and cheaper than driving!
The tower, for all of its height, only has a footprint of 1500 square metres so takes up surprisingly little room. If you visit at the weekend there’s a good chance you’ll see brave souls abseiling down it’s sides. It’s sponsored by Emirates so the white “sail” is made all the more colourful by a subtle blue and gold colour theme. It perfectly complements the busy harbour, which is constantly bustling with craft both big and small.
So much for how it looks. What’s inside? On the morning of our visit there was only a small queue to get in. Once past the ticket desk there is a waiting area where they show a short 4-minute video giving some of Portsmouth’s history. You then move onto to the lift via a green screen area where you’ll have your photo taken (yes, you’ll be glad to know that, although the tower has 560 steps the high-speed lift will whisk you straight up to the first viewing deck in a mere 28 seconds).
The first viewing deck is the largest and encloses the fear inducing glass floor “Sky Walk”. As is often the case with these things they were fearless kids happily trotting back and forth over it whilst some adults were clutching the railings and clearly slightly nauseated! It’s definitely worth kicking off your shoes and taking a wander over it though – the initial sensation is quite scary but, once the logical side of the brain takes over, it’s quite fascinating to look down the 330 foot drop below your feet and see the boats bobbing in the sea!
From this level, you get a 350-degree view of the surrounding area. With Portsmouth being on the Solent there is a constant stream of boats and ferries. You’ll definitely see the Gosport and Isle of Wight ferries going to and fro and may even get to see one of the larger cross channel ferries arriving back from France. At present, following its much-publicised arrival on Wednesday 16th August, we also have Queen Elizabeth in harbour. The Navy’s new aircraft carrier looked surprisingly small from the lofty heights of the tower though! You’ll also have a bird’s eye view of Warrior and Victory in the Historic Dockyard, the seafront at Southsea, Gunwharf Quays itself and The Isle of Wight. It goes without saying that the clearer the day the further you’ll see but I imagine you could experience some pretty intense weather watching on a less than sunny day!
All around the bottom of the glass walls is a “map” to show you what you’re looking at. You can also buy a closer look with the telescope there. Alternatively check out i-VIEW, an interactive touch screen system which can provide further historical details, a multi-language commentary and the ability to digitally zoom in on the attractions you can see.
From here you can take the stairs to deck 2 – which houses The Clouds Café. Sadly, on the day we visited several tables were reserved, which meant there was nowhere to sit and enjoy a cup of tea and a cake. It would certainly have been elevenses with a view though!
A further 30 steps and you find yourself on the top deck. Deck 3 is open topped and has been turned into a garden with some planters and artificial grass on the floor. Our 6-year-old really liked this area (especially the beanbags) and it was slightly quieter than the first deck so a good place to take a bit of a breather. In the area outside the door was a little presentation of various weather conditions (I’d love to see a rainbow from there!)
A trot back down the steps and we were back on Deck 1 ready to take the lift back down to the base. This was the only low point as we were very crammed in on the way back down – lots of comments about sardines in tins – and our 6-year-old found it a bit uncomfortable to be so squeezed in. Consequently, he was eager to get outside once we got to ground level so we didn’t really linger in the gift shop or ground floor café. It also meant we bypassed the photo desk but from a brief glance it looked as though there were several options to purchase a photo with a variety of Spinnaker Tower themed backgrounds. The gift shop seemed to have a wide variety of gifts and the Waterfront Café was large and bustling.
We spent just short of an hour in the tower (but on entry you have your hand stamped which gives you the option of returning again that day for free). It’s not cheap to visit but definitely gives you a unique viewpoint of a constantly changing panorama. If you are visiting Portsmouth it’s a definite “must do” and as a local we tend to go up every year and there’s always something new to see.
Overall, I rate the tower as 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Rating: 4.5/5
Tickets: Adult £10.50, Child £8.50, Family Ticket £34 – book online in advance for discounted prices. Portsmouth residents discounts also available with valid proof of residence.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.spinnakertower.co.uk.
Emirates Spinnaker Tower, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 3TT
