Up at The O2 is a guided 90-minute walk across a fabric walkway over the roof of the Dome at North Greenwich, wearing a harness clipped to a safety line, with a viewing platform 52 metres up in the middle. Tickets start at £37 for a weekday daytime climb, the minimum age is 8 and the minimum height is 1.2 metres.
It is not a climbing wall and it is not a via ferrata. The walkway is a tensioned fabric surface that gives slightly under your feet, rising at a gentle angle to the summit and falling away again on the far side. You are attached to a line throughout, a guide walks with the group, and all the safety equipment is included in the ticket.
The view is east London rather than the postcard one. Canary Wharf sits across the river to the north-west, the Thames bends round the peninsula below, and the operator says landmarks up to 15 miles away are visible when the air is clear.
The roof climb at a glance
- Price from
- £37 weekday daytime; £42 weekend daytime; twilight from £40; sunset from £42 (September 2026)
- Duration
- 90 minutes in total
- Height at the summit
- 52 metres above ground level
- Minimum age
- 8
- Minimum height
- 1.2 metres
- Maximum weight
- 21 stone / 130kg
- Arrive
- 15 minutes before your climb time; latecomers are not admitted
- Nearest station
- North Greenwich, Jubilee line
What two adults and two children pay
The published prices are per climber and do not vary by age, so a family of four is simply four tickets. At the lowest weekday daytime rate that is £148; a weekend daytime climb starts at £42 each, so £168. Sunset climbs are the most expensive at the weekend, from £44 each.
| Climb | Weekday from | Weekend from | Two adults and two children (weekday) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daytime | £37.00 | £42.00 | £148.00 |
| Twilight | £40.00 | £43.00 | £160.00 |
| Sunset | £42.00 | £44.00 | £168.00 |
These are the "from" prices published in September 2026 and the operator varies them by date and time, so the figure in the booking calendar for your day may be higher. Every climber aged 8 to 17 must be counted against an accompanying adult when you book, so a single adult cannot bring three children and expect to be let up.
Between 6 November 2026 and 3 January 2027 every climb includes access to a festive Snow Globe experience at the summit, and a separately branded Snow Globe Climb is sold from £44. If you want the view rather than the theme, that window is the one to avoid.
A weekday daytime slot is £20 cheaper for a family of four than a weekend sunset. The walkway and the guide are identical. What changes is the light and the queue at North Greenwich station afterwards, so if the budget is tight book Tuesday morning and spend the difference on lunch.
Photo: Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized
The age and size limits, in full
These are the rules that decide whether a family can do this at all, and the operator publishes them on the climb booking page rather than in the small print:
- Minimum age 8. There is no exception, and a child of seven cannot be carried or accompanied up.
- Minimum height 1.2 metres. A tall seven-year-old still cannot climb; a short nine-year-old may not be able to either. Measure before you book.
- Maximum weight 21 stone, 130kg or 286lbs.
- Maximum waist 125cm and maximum upper thigh 75cm. These are harness limits, not comfort guidelines.
- Under-18s must be accompanied. Your booking has to include the right number of adults for every climber aged 8 to 17.
- Not suitable for pregnant customers, in the operator's own words.
- No alcohol or other substances. Anyone judged to be under the influence is refused and not refunded.
You also complete a declaration and waiver online in advance. Do that at home rather than at the base camp desk, because the 15-minute arrival deadline is enforced and latecomers are not admitted.
What happens in bad weather
This is the question that catches visitors who booked weeks ahead. The operator states that climbs go ahead in all weather other than gales, lightning, heavy snow or ice, or other extreme conditions that would make climbing unsafe. Rain on its own is not a cancellation, and nor is wind that merely feels strong on the ground.
If a climb is cancelled for weather, the operator rebooks or refunds it. What it will not do is refund you because you decided not to go out in the drizzle, so treat a booking in February as a commitment to walk up a wet fabric ramp in a waterproof jacket. A jacket is offered at base camp if you need one, and you are fitted with the harness there.
Wear shoes you can walk a slope in. The surface moves under you and the descent on the far side is steeper in feel than the climb.
Rain will not cancel your climb, but lightning will. The published rule is gales, lightning, heavy snow or ice and extreme conditions only. If the forecast is simply wet, assume you are going, dress for it, and keep your phone in a zipped pocket rather than your hand.
Climbing in a wheelchair
There is a genuine wheelchair climb, and it is not a token gesture. It runs from late spring to early autumn on weekday mornings and takes up to three hours. One wheelchair user climbs with up to nine friends and family, including a personal assistant or carer, and the carer climbs free.
You transfer into a special chair provided by the operator, with a seat 45cm wide and 40cm deep on a frame 70cm wide and 99cm high. Four guides work a pulley system to take you up and, on the way down, you descend backwards. It must be booked in advance and demand means there is a waiting list worked through in order.
For standard climbs, the operator's general rule is that you can complete the climb if you can walk unaided, and it asks anyone with a medical condition to talk to the box office first. A free carer ticket is available alongside a paid ticket with an Access Card or Nimbus card showing the +1 symbol. Our guide to accessible London covers how those schemes work across the city's attractions.
Getting to base camp, and the journey home
Base camp sits near the main entrance of the Dome, so you walk past it on your way in from the station. North Greenwich on the Jubilee line is the obvious approach and puts you at the door; our guide to getting to The O2 covers the bus routes, the river bus and the times when the station empties an arena crowd in one go.
Two better arrivals if you have the time. The river bus from central London lands at North Greenwich Pier a short walk away, and our guide to the Thames river bus explains the fares and the fact that they sit outside the daily caps. Or come across the water on the IFS Cloud Cable Car, which runs between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks at £7.00 one-way for an adult and £3.50 for a child, and gives you the Dome from above before you walk on it. The operator also sells a combined climb and cable car package.
Afterwards, the Dome itself is a shopping and entertainment complex rather than a destination, and our page on eating near The O2 is honest about which parts of it to walk past. If you are making a day of the peninsula, Greenwich proper is two stops away and a different world.
How it compares with a viewing platform
If the view is all you want, this is the expensive way to get it. Central London's towers put you higher for less, and several are free; we set them out side by side in our guide to London's viewing platforms compared. At 52 metres the summit here is lower than most of them, and the skyline is further away.
What you are buying instead is the thing you do, not the thing you see: a harness, a walkway that moves, an hour and a half outside, and a roof that most people only ever look at from the Jubilee line. Children of nine or ten who have been dragged round three museums tend to remember it above everything else on the trip. Adults who dislike heights should be warned that the middle of the walkway has nothing but fabric between them and the ground.
The Dome's other life, as the arena where the big tours play, is covered in our guide to The O2 and London's big arenas, and the wider family guide to London sets the cost of a climb against the zoo, the aquarium and the Tower.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Up at The O2 cost?
Standard daytime climbs start at £37 on weekdays and £42 at weekends, twilight climbs from £40 and £43, and sunset climbs from £42 and £44. Prices are per climber with no separate child rate, and the operator varies them by date, so check the booking calendar. Prices checked September 2026.
What is the minimum age for Up at The O2?
Eight years old, and climbers must also be at least 1.2 metres tall. Anyone aged 8 to 17 has to be accompanied, and your booking must include enough adults for the young climbers in the group.
Does Up at The O2 run in the rain?
Yes. The operator states that climbs take place in all weather conditions other than gales, lightning, heavy snow or ice, or extreme weather that would make climbing unsafe. If a climb is cancelled for weather you are offered a rebooking or a refund.
How high is the roof walk at The O2?
The viewing platform at the summit is 52 metres above ground level. The whole experience lasts about 90 minutes, including the safety briefing and being fitted with a harness at base camp near the Dome's main entrance.
Can wheelchair users do Up at The O2?
Yes, on a separate wheelchair climb that runs from late spring to early autumn on weekday mornings and takes up to three hours. One wheelchair user and up to nine companions climb with four guides using a pulley system, and the personal assistant or carer climbs free. It must be booked ahead and there is a waiting list.
Sources
- Up at The O2 - climb details, prices and booking requirements (checked September 2026)
- The O2 - Up at The O2 climbs (checked September 2026)
- The O2 - accessible climbs and wheelchair climbs (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - London Cable Car (checked September 2026)