MADAME
One sunny Sunday afternoon we took a trip to the seaside…. to Brighton on the English south coast.
Here the long stretch of pebble beach meets crashing waves as they roll into shore as the tide ebbs and flows.
Sitting high on the seafront promenade at West Pier is the British Airways i360 skyride.
The West Pier was once a beautiful Victorian Pier, but it was destroyed in a fire in 2003. The remains have been left standing out at sea.
The original East Tollbooth has also been restored and is used as the ticket office for the i360.
The i360 stands at 162m tall and the viewing pod reaches high into the sky to 138m, making it taller than the London Eye by 6m! The pod is also 10 times larger than a London Eye Capsule.
While sitting on the beach, we bought tickets via the website and were in the sky 40 minutes later.
Luckily, no face masks were required when we took our flight and numbers on board were limited to allow for social distancing. This made it even more of a great experience as you could easily walk around the pod and look out of the window without getting too close to anyone.
As you rise higher and higher, the people and deck chairs below got smaller and smaller and you begin to see more and more of the coastline and far out to sea.
It is a really futuristic experience and while reaching for the sky you can buy a drink from the Sky Bar while enjoying the view.
The flight takes about 25 minutes and is smooth and ideal on a fabulous bright sunny summer’s day!
There are guide tiles dotted around the pod helping you identify various landmarks and on a clear day, you can see the Isle of Wight located 49miles away.
A viewing map is also available and a multi-lingual app can be download before your trip.
It is a fantastic experience and the 360-degree views across Brighton, the South Downs and beyond are truly breath-taking; as always, England on Sunny days, is stunningly beautiful.
The BA i360 can also be hired for all kinds of events like parties and weddings.
Due to Covid-19, the i360 has been accredited with Visit England’s ‘We’re Good to Go’ mark, so you be sure your trip is as safe as can be.
Brighton is a great city to discover too, with plenty to see and do including its famous narrow antique and jewellery lanes, and the unexpected and stunning Brighton Pavilion.
The city attracts 11 million visitors and more than 1 million international holiday-makers every year.
The purpose of the BA i360 is simply to delight, entertain and inspire… it definitely did that!
MADAMOISELLE
With the lucky weather we’ve been having in the UK, Madame and Mademoiselle decided to take a trip down to Brighton. Although it was a bit windy we sat on the beach and enjoyed the seaside view.
We saw the British Airways i360 and thought we should give it a go, especially as we would get a lovely view of the city of Brighton in the sunny weather.
There was no queue and there weren't a lot of people waiting, which is good in these times as it was easier to keep the 2-metre distance rule and we weren’t obliged to wear a mask which was also good as you could enjoy the experience more.
We entered the pod, which looked like it came out from an alien movie, like a flying saucer.
I didn’t realise we had started to move upwards because the ride was so smooth and you only realised you were getting higher because people down below became little dots.
We enjoyed the vastness of the sea and the city in calmness, without the noise of cars or lots of people chatting away etc. Once we had reached the top, it remained stationery for a few minutes so everybody had the chance to go round the pod and take lots of pictures.
Whilst you were enjoying the ride you could also treat yourself to a refreshing drink of bubbly (English champagne) with music that was playing in the background.
Overall it was a great experience as it felt like you were in the sky and could take a moment to appreciate the view.
August 2020