Strange Planet: Scaling The O2

“I’ve never climbed a building before (who has, really?), but here I was, clipped into a flight suit and tethered to a steel guide rail, with the Thames growing smaller with each step. Ascending the O2 — the fabric-topped London arena once known as the Millennium Dome — felt like scaling a trampoline.

The reward for the 200-meter (656-foot) climb was a 360-degree view of Olympic Park and the city’s East End. To the left, Big Ben was a distant speck; to the right, giant barriers that protect against floods stood in the river like mechanical seashells. The clouds scuttled along at eye-level, but the rain held off until the moment our feet touched the ground.”

– Submitted by U.S. travel writer Christine O’Toole. Follow her story on Twitter @christineotoole.

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