Eye in the sky

Publicity for the London Eye and river Thames cruises makes great claims for accessibility. Sunil Peck checks out whether they stand up

My trip on the London Eye was dull. But it’s no great surprise given that the point of the Eye is to offer views of the city’s landscape. But even though I cannot appreciate spectacular views of London from hundreds of feet in the air, I reckon I could derive some enjoyment from the Eye.

I would have enjoyed listening to an audio guide to some of the visible buildings. I would also have been interested to hear about the construction of the Eye whose parts were transported up river by barge so it could be put together.

But the only sounds I heard in the capsule were a couple chatting, the occasional clicking of a camera shutter and a man standing uncomfortably close to me who threw up five minutes in.

I understand that puking passengers are rare on the Eye so, if you fancy a trip, discounted tickets are available to disabled people, you won’t have to queue and staff will stop the wheel to give you time to get in and out. Each capsule can accommodate two wheelchairs and there are printed guides with information about the landmarks on show.

The cruise along the Thames afterwards on the top deck of a boat was a wonderful sensory experience. There was a stiff wind in my face, the sun was beating down, the smell of boat fuel wafted up from time to time and the tunes of the buskers on the South Bank competed with the sound of trains roaring in and out of Charing Cross.

The top deck of the boat is accessible by a lift and induction loops and disabled toilets are available too.

The boat meanders past Big Ben, Parliament and St. Paul’s Cathedral while a guide points out other landmarks like a bridge that can clean itself, and locations of scenes in famous films. The audio commentary brings hundreds of years of history to life with tales of a polar bear from the Tower of London who once bathed in the Thames, frost fairs that took place on the river when it used to freeze over, and a double decker bus which was driving across Tower Bridge when a section of the bridge began to lift into the air to allow a ship to pass underneath.

Boat trips on the Thames are always a tremendous way of enjoying London. But it’s a shame that more has not been done to enable visually impaired visitors to get more out of a flight in the London Eye.