The pod at 138 metres
The South Downs, the Channel and, on a very clear day, the Isle of Wight.
At the foot of the burnt-out West Pier, whose iron skeleton still stands in the sea off Brighton beach, a slender steel column rises 162 metres. Around it a glass pod shaped like a doughnut climbs, very slowly, to about 138 metres and comes back down. The designers were Marks Barfield, the architects of the London Eye, and the idea was a vertical answer to that wheel: instead of turning, you rise. It opened in August 2016 and carried British Airways' name until late 2022 before reverting to the plain one. The flight lasts around 25 minutes. The pod holds 200 but is rarely that full, so you can wander from side to side. Below is the whole of Brighton climbing its hill, the green South Downs behind, the Channel stretched out in front, and on a truly clear day you may make out the Isle of Wight to the west. The best picture is not the horizon but what lies directly beneath you: the ruined pier looks, from up here, like an ink drawing on the water. The pod is level, air-conditioned and fine for pushchairs and wheelchairs; there are no toilets on board, so go before you fly. Two honest caveats. First, the whole thing is hostage to the weather: on a grey or drizzly day you pay to stand inside a cloud, flights are suspended in high wind, and the tower had a run of technical stoppages in its early years. Second, the ground floor is essentially a restaurant and bar. The attraction entered administration in November 2024 and shut that December; the council wrote off around £51 million of loans; and in February 2025 it was bought by Nightcap, a bar group, reopening in March 2025. The extended evening flight is sold with drinks, so families are better off with the ordinary daytime flight. A timed View 360 ticket costs £20.50 for an adult online, children under two go free, and a £25 Anytime ticket lets you fly whenever you like on your chosen day, which is the sensible buy in changeable weather. Arrive twenty minutes before your slot. Hours shift with the season: doors usually open at 11:00, closing around 16:00 in winter and stretching to 20:00 on summer evenings; the tower also shuts on some Mondays and Tuesdays in late autumn and for most of January for its annual inspection, so check the calendar on the website. Sunset flights are the popular ones in summer, so book those ahead. It is a fifteen-minute downhill walk from Brighton station to the seafront, with a public car park opposite. Verdict: if you are in Brighton and the sky is clear, it is an enjoyable hour and worth the money; do not come to Brighton for it alone.
The South Downs, the Channel and, on a very clear day, the Isle of Wight.
The burnt-out pier beneath your feet looks like an ink drawing on the water, the best photo of the flight.
The most sought-after slot in summer, so book ahead; choose the ordinary flight, not the drinks-led evening one.
Lower Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2LN
Do not expect the same experience: the flight is shorter and the view is a seaside town, not a capital. But it is cheaper, less crowded and the sea view over the ruined pier is special. Worth an hour if you are in Brighton on a clear day; not worth a trip down from London on its own, and on a foggy day keep your money.
Yes, flights are suspended in high wind, and in fog the view vanishes even when the tower is running. In changeable weather buy the £25 Anytime ticket so you can pick the clearest hour of the day, and check the website before you set out.