Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

2:34pm Thursday 12th July 2007

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Venue: Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

Where: Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth.

What's on offer:

With one of the most stunning sea views in the world, exciting family attractions, along with terrific shopping, quality restaurants and bars - all on a spectacular waterfront, Portsmouth offers a fantastic day out for all.

Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth is one of the South coast's must see' attractions this summer. The iconic 170m tall viewing tower has been and instant success since opening in October 2005, attracting over 800,000 visitors in little over 18 months, who have each witnessed the spectacular 350 panoramic views of one of the most fascinating seascapes in the world.

There are three viewing platforms, positioned at 100, 105 and 110 metres. Each has floor to ceiling glass vistas, offering spectacular views of the Solant, Isle of Wight and the South coast.

Deck 1, (100 metres), also boasts Europe's largest glass floor enabling visitors of all ages to walk on air'! Deck 2 (105 metres), features self contained multimedia Time Telescopes' which detail the vivid history of the harbour below and Deck 3 (110 metres), The Crow's Nest', is open to the elements where visitors can really feel the wind in their hair.

To find out more about the tower visit www.spinnakertower.co.uk

Opening Times:

From 1 April - 30 June; 10am - 6pm Sunday to Friday, 10am - 10pm on Saturday.

From 1 July to 31 August, the tower will be open 10am - 10pm daily.

Closed Christmas Day.

For more information visit the website above or telephone 02392 857520.

How to get there:

M5 Junc 6 or 7, leave at Junc 11a London/Cirencester. Join A417 the A419. M4 close to Swindon, at roundabout take 1st exit, continue along M4 towards London. Exit at Junc 13 Oxford/Newbury, close to Newbury at roundabout take 3rd exit continue along A34 towards Newbury then M3 close to Winchester, at roundabout take 3rd exit and continue along M3 towards Southampton/Bournemouth/Portsmouth.

Join M27 and exit at Junc 12 Portsmouth, then M275 and follow brown signs for Spinnaker Tower and Gunwharf Quays.

Prices:

Admission costs just £6.20 for adults, £5 for children and £5.60 for concessions, with a family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) costing £21.

Review:

We spent the weekend in Portsmouth and stayed at the Tulip Inn which is about 20 minutes drive to the Quay. This made our weekend, as the hotel was clean and fresh, easy to find and the staff very friendly and helpful and lovely rooms, restaurant and food.

Well I have to say that Spinnaker Tower was a spectacular site and definitely worth a visit. We were very lucky to have such great weather and the views from each level of the tower were absolutely amazing. I was very nervous in standing on the glass floor and looking down as it was a little scary but once on there it was really fascinating. My daughter would not go on it was scary to her but her friend Bobby thought it was brilliant. The people below were so small they looked like ants moving around.

We used the lift to take us to the first level then the stairs to go to the other levels. The external glass elevator was not working, but I think this would have been a really good experience too.

As the weather was so clear we were able to see views right across the city, the busy harbour, sea and coastline and the Isle of Wight. It is an experience that we would definitely recommend to everyone to try when visiting the area.

Whilst there we also visited the Southsea's Victorian waterfront and took a stroll along the beach, which was very pebbly but when the tide was out there was soft sand, the water was surprisingly very warm so we all took our shoes off and had a paddled, on the Sunday morning, the girls actually went in for a swim. We visited the Blue Reef Aquarium, which had some spectacular fish with amazing colours, a see through tunnel where you could see sharks swimming over above you and my favourite the otters. Further along the esplanade was Southsea Castle, which was one of King Henry VIII's costal fortifications, developed over the centuries to protect Portsmouth, this is also worth a visit and steeped in history.

We have had such a great time that we will be going back to explore more that's on offer in Portsmouth, during the summer such as the Historical docks, which we did not have time to see.

Review by Roni Skye, Aimee and Bobbie