Today we are thrilled to share a little secret: the Tower Bridge Exhibition is dog-friendly! If you are on the look for something unusual to do with your dog in London, this is definitely a good dog-friendly attraction to consider! We visited Tower Bridge Exhibition with Argo over the weekend to check it out and tell you all about it for an eureka weekend dog plan!
Dogs at the Tower Bridge Exhibition
Dogs (other than guide dogs) are mostly denied access to museums and cultural public buildings, so we went on the hunt to find out whether there were any exceptions in London… and we found a great one! Eureka moment: the Tower Bridge Exhibition is dog-friendly, so you can enojoy walking 32-feet above the river with your dog, passing on the glass floor and learning more about this stunning attraction.
Starting from Tower Bridge
How many times have you walked on the ever crowded Tower Bridge, busy today as it was when it was built back in time. The Tower Bridge Exhibition tells about the history of Tower Bridge and of other famous bridges, as well as allows you to enojoy a unique viewpoint on the City and walk on a glass floor suspended on the Thames, if you dare.
The ticket office is located in the North Tower of the bridge, where you will join the queue outside. Ours was luckily very quick. One first thing to know is that to access the tickets office there is a revolving door: this can be dangerous for dogs, as they that can get trapped and injured, so please be very careful or simply ask the staff to use the secondary door on the side (which is a normal type one) to enter. The staff we met was extremely kind and indicated us this safer alternative without even having to ask.
In general, we were stunned by the kindness of the Tower Bridge Exhibition’s staff, who seems to consist in a whole crew of big dog lovers!
After purchasing the ticket you will pass through the security checks before getting the lift to the high walkways connecting the two towers (in case you prefer stairs over lifts, there is that alternative). In the lift the staff also explained us the route to be taken when upstairs.
Arriving on top of the North Tower, there is a room where you can watch an old video. We didn’t stop there because under the screen there was a fake cat and Argo didn’t get that it wasn’t real, starting to point it, so we preferred to continue our way to the walkways.
Dog walking on Tower Bridge’s Walkways and glass floor
The East and West Walkways are a lovely place to test your knowledge of the names of all London buildings from an unusual observation point, and along the way you will find explanations and videos about the bridge. Of course, the biggest attraction is the Tower Bridge Walkway glass floor. If you are afraid of heights you may find yourself walking on the side of it, otherwise it can be a fun experience.
The glass floor is 42 meters above the Thames… and Argo walked on it without a blink! In fact, on the glass floor located in the West Walkaway, he was much more interested in investigating the reflection in the mirror on the ceiling above rather than looking down. He even stood up on his rear legs to try and sniff the fellow above, with much hilarity of all the visitors around us.
A dog visit to the Engine Rooms
After the visit in of the Towers and Walkways, we descended and exited the South Tower, finding ourselves on the bridge. But the visit doesn’t end here. If you follow the plaques on the pavement, you will find your way to the Engine Rooms, on the South bank of the river (remember to keep your ticket for this purpose!). There you can see and learn about the old steam and water system that was used for opening the bridge.
We enjoyed the exhibition, but especially the fact that we could bring Argo with us. In fact, it may haven’t been on our list if it didn’t have a dog-friendly policy! The after-visit can also be extremely pleasant, with a stroll on the Thames Path!
Tower Bridge Exhibition dog-friendly: info & tips
Where: Tower Bridge, Tower Bridge Road, London, SE1 2UP
Official website: towerbridge.org.uk
Opening times: Daily 9.30am -5pm (last admission)
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased on Tower Bridge’s website and cost £9.80 for adults on the door (if you pre-order them online you will be able to save a few dimes, as they are £8.80), child under 5 years free, child 5-15 years old £4.20 on the door, £3.80 online. There are also a range of family tickets available, differently priced. You can also purchase a joint ticket for the Tower Bridge Exhibition and the Monument (£12), but unfortunately dogs are not allowed on The Monument – we were told -, so keep this in mind!
Something that few know is that if you live in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark or City of London, you can benefit from a very favourable ticket price of only £1! What you need to do is just bring a proof of address dated within the last 12 months (such as bank statement, utility bill, council tax statement) and a photo id document (it is also recommended you bring and the Idea Store card/Tower Hamlets library card for Tower Hamlets residents). This type of ticket cannot be booked in advance.
Dog policy: When we first wrote this blog post, Tower Bridge did not provide any information about dogs on their website and we confirmed that dogs were allowed. Since then they added indication of their dog policy, reading “Dogs of any size are allowed. Dogs must be kept on leads and supervised at all times. At busy times we may restrict the number of dogs allowed into the attraction however assistance dogs will be allowed in at all times.”
Tips: Hot weather – if it is a very hot day, please take into consideration that the walkways are made of glass, so it can become quite hot there and it may be an excessive heat for some dogs. You can buy some bottled water at the exhibition’s shop next to the Engine Rooms, but remember to bring a bowl.
Hours – you can check out the bridge lift times to try and be on the glass floor when the bridge opens. It may be a bit more crowded, but quite exciting.
Getting there:
- Tube: The closest tube stations are Tower Hill (District and Circle lines), and Tower Gateway (DLR). For an escalator-free route from your home, check our guide.
- Boat: coming from Central London, you can get Circular Cruises to St Katherine Pier; from West and East London, you can also get the Thames Clipper to Tower Pier.
- By car – Parking: if you are going by car, there is a car park nearby, Tower Hill Coach and Car Park situated at 50 Lower Thames Street, London, EC3R 6DT (information on tariffs here)
E N J O Y!
… and send us some pics of your dog on the glass floor!
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