What the Glass Floor Is
The Glass Floor is a feature of the high-level walkways that connect Tower Bridge's two iconic towers. Six large glass panels are set flush into the floor of the west walkway, replacing sections of the original metal flooring. Each panel is transparent, giving visitors an unobstructed view straight down to the bridge road, the river and any traffic or boats passing 42 metres below.
The installation opened in November 2014 as an addition to the existing Tower Bridge Exhibition. It was designed to give visitors a new perspective on the bridge and the river, and it has become one of the most photographed spots on the structure.
The Engineering
Each glass panel measures roughly 11 metres long and 1.8 metres wide. They are made from triple-layered toughened glass designed to withstand both the weight of visitors and the structural stresses of the bridge. According to the exhibition, each panel can support the equivalent weight of an African elephant.
The panels are set into steel frames that sit within the original Victorian walkway structure. Installing them required careful engineering to avoid altering the Grade I listed bridge. The work was carried out by specialists who had experience with structural glass in heritage buildings.
What You Can See
The view depends on timing. On a busy day, you will see red double-decker buses, cars and cyclists crossing the bridge road directly below you. Black cabs and delivery lorries pass underneath with surprising regularity. River traffic, including tour boats, Thames Clippers and occasionally tall ships, moves along the water beneath that.
If you time your visit to coincide with a bridge lift, the glass floor gives you an extraordinary vantage point. Looking down through the panels as the bascules open below is one of the most unusual views in London. The bridge still opens around 800 times a year, and lift times are published online so you can plan ahead. Bridge lift times are published on the Tower Bridge website, so you can plan ahead.
Is It Scary?
That depends on how you feel about heights. The glass is completely solid and there is no wobble or flex, but the visual effect of standing 42 metres above open air with nothing apparently between you and the ground is disconcerting for some visitors. Others walk across without a second thought.
Children tend to love it. You will regularly see visitors lying flat on the glass to take photographs looking straight down, while others prefer to edge around the solid sections. There is no pressure to stand on the glass if you would rather not.
Visiting the Glass Floor
The Glass Floor is part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, which also includes the Victorian Engine Rooms and historical displays about the bridge's construction. You cannot visit the glass floor independently of the exhibition, as it is accessed through the same walkway route.
The walkways themselves were originally built so that pedestrians could cross the river even when the bridge was raised. They closed to the public in 1910 due to low usage, as most people preferred to wait at road level. They reopened as a tourist attraction in 1982 and have been a popular feature ever since.
