The view directly below the tower, looking West, over Fitzrovia and Marylebone
The BT Tower is one of the most easily identifiable structures on the London skyline. Its location in Fitzrovia separates it from the other clusters of skyscrapers in London, making it visible for miles around. Some Londoners still refer to it as the Post Office Tower, as it used to be known, and many reminisce about when it was open to the public with a revolving restaurant at the top.
Since the tower closed to the public, chances to get inside are few and far between. Your best chance is when a charity opens it up for the day and sells tickets to raise funds. Here's what we learned...
The entrance looks like any other office building on Maple Street ...except on special occasions.Airport-style security scanners greet all visitors, who must also take photographic ID. Once we're through security, we find ourselves in a larger corridor which leads to the circular waiting area, the central point of which is the lift shaft. Despite not being open to the public all that often, the interior is well decorated with photos of the tower on the walls, and life-sized model phone boxes.Disco ball phone box.A model of the tower in the entrance corridor.This sign inside the lift tells us how fast we're travelling, up to the top speed of 1,400 feet per minute. There used to be one large lift, but it was replaced with two smaller lifts which carry about 12 people each.Also inside the lift is this representation of the tower, which lights up to tell us which floor we're on. Stepping out of the lift on the 34th floor we're greeted with floor to ceiling glass all the way around.Take a pew and watch London go by while the tower revolves. Once everyone had been shuttled up, the floor jolted slightly and the tower began to revolve. Each complete turn takes around 20 minutes.Visitors look out from the the 34th floor.A view over an autumnal Regent's Park.Alexandra Palace can be seen in the distance on a clear day. To the north west, the Wembley arch is also visible on a clear day, as is Crystal Palace to the south.The railway tracks leaving Euston and heading up towards Camden.UCL (with the St Pancras clock tower in the background).British Museum in the foreground of the towers of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf.The sun sets to the West.
