Dog-friendly Skylight London rooftop: croquet, pétanque and skating

Skylight London is a lovely place. Tucked away in Tobacco Dock, it doesn’t stand out from the street and it may go unnoticed if you didn’t know it was there. Out of hours, its entrance on Pennington Street doesn’t have any signs, and it’s just when the gates are open that a security guard and the word “Skylight” painted on a wall inside give it away that there may be a secret world behind those doors.

To reach the rooftop you have to venture through the entrance of a car park, and climb upstairs, guided by some signs. When you reach its floor and step in, the landscape changes dramatically and you have the impression of having found the best kept secret place.

With its fake grass floor and colourful walls and decorations, Skylight London immediately gives you a sense of relax and is a very summery. The space takes on 3 levels: at the reception level there are tennis tables in a covered space (there used to be other games last year) and an outdoor pétanque sand court.

Walking down a ramp, indoor, there is the food area, where to grab some juicy burgers or other delicacy or play a game on a miniature indoor croquet court. The third level is the actual rooftop, where the bar serves long wooden tables under a colourful pergola, there is a larger croquet court near the iconic luminescent Skylight sign and walking up some stairs you can reach a raised roof terrace featuring day beds and garden booths. From there you have views of the City, with the Gherkin, the Walkie Talkie and even the Shard on the other side of the river standing out.

In Winter, the croquet court leaves space to a skating ice rink, which is smaller than the other ones in town, but a good chance for a round between a mulled wine glass and some wintery raclette, and the petanque court is transformed in a mini hockey court. Although the venue is mostly outdoor, there are rain covers, outdoor and indoor heaters, and glamorous igloos make an appearance, while the garden booths are converted into winter huts. This year the winter setting will be up from 31st October.

Dog-friendly hours and annual Dog Day events at Skylight London

Lilliput the Maltese and fried

Dogs are welcome at Skylight London during its regular opening hours (more at the bottom of this post), with one limitation: on Fridays and Saturdays they are only allowed from 12 to 6pm as the rooftop becomes crowded and loud in the evening.

If your dog is ball-obsessed, it may be best to stay under the pergola or book a sun bed/garden booth on the raised roof terrace and avoid croquet, pétanque and tennis table. But if your dogs is fine with it, it’s a great opportunity to combine games and getting your dog outside! From October when the ice rink replaces the croquet court, you won’t have to worry about this.

For the second year, on 15th September 2019, Skylight London has hosted a special Dog Day, to celebrate canines friends. With special doggy cocktails at the bar, dog treats aplenty, sponsored by some doggie brands Forthglade, Soopa and Lecker Bites, and water bowls around the venue. There was a good turn around of furry ones and their humans at the event. Despite being mid-September, the day was very warm, so some of the dogs were glad to rest in the shade under the pergola and garden booths. If was an amazing day, with old and new friends, and I’d recommend it for next year.

With October, the landscape will change at Skylight London, bringing the ice rink from 1st November, but dogs will still be welcome at this rooftop, so why not visiting when it’s dressed for Winter? Being Skilight London our local, we may cross roads too!