Viewpoints · South East England
Spinnaker Tower
Portsmouth's 170m sail-shaped observation tower; views to the Isle of Wight.
Rob Farrow — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 20 min–45 min
- Best time of year
- Clear days year-round
- Paid entry
- Dog-friendly
- Wheelchair accessible
About
The Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth (2005) is a 170-metre observation tower in the shape of a billowing sail — a Millennium project finally opened in 2005. Three viewing decks include the Sky Walk glass floor; on a clear day visitors see the Isle of Wight, Chichester Cathedral and Portsmouth Harbour's Royal Navy fleet.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
The Spinnaker Tower is a 170-metre (560 ft) landmark observation tower in Portsmouth, England. It is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which was supported by a National Lottery grant. The tower's design was chosen by Portsmouth residents from a selection of three different designs in a 1998 public poll. It has three viewing platforms one on top of the other at heights of 100 m, 105 m and 110 m. The tower was designed by local firm HGP Architects and engineering consultants Scott Wilson and built by Mowlem with steelwork by Butterley Engineering. The Spinnaker Tower reflects Portsmouth's maritime history through its design and is named after a spinnaker, a type of sail that balloons outward. The tower was opened on 18 October 2005. The tower is owned by Portsmouth City Council and is operationally managed by Continuum Leading Attractions, a cultural attractions group based in York. Continuum also runs five other visitor attractions across the country. The Spinnaker Tower was repainted and rebranded as the "Emirates Spinnaker Tower" from July 2015 following a five-year commercial sponsorship deal with the Dubai-based Emirates airline. The Emirates sponsorship deal expired in 2020 and the tower reverted to its original all-white paint scheme and name in April 2021. On 5 May 2023, it was announced that Macmillan Cancer Support would become the tower's new sponsor beginning in June.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Portsmouth's Millennium Tower, as it was originally intended to be named, was a project conceived in 1995 to design a monument to commemorate the Millennium celebrations in the year 2000. It received UK National Lottery funding and was intended to open in late 1999. A choice of three different Millennium Tower designs were presented to the people of Portsmouth for a public poll in early 1998. The poll was undertaken by Portsmouth City Council in conjunction with Portsmouth's local newspaper, The News between 11 February 1998 and 23 February 1998. The total number of votes received were 9,476, with 65% of the votes selecting Spinnaker, a design by local architects Hedley Greentree Associates…
Architecture
At a height of 560 ft, the tower is one of the tallest accessible structures in the United Kingdom outside London. The tower is visible around Portsmouth, changing the horizon of the area. It can be seen from the Isle of Wight, the Manhood Peninsula, Highdown Gardens and Cissbury Ring in Worthing and Nine Barrow Down in the Purbeck Hills, Dorset. The tower represents sails billowing in the wind, a design accomplished using two large, white, sweeping metal arcs, which give the tower its spinnaker sail design. The steelwork was fabricated by Butterley Engineering. At the top is a triple observation deck, providing a 360° view of the city of Portsmouth, the Langstone and Portsmouth harbours,…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 50.7956, -1.1083
- District
- Portsmouth
- Parish
- Portsmouth, unparished area
- Postcode
- PO1 3TY
- Parliamentary constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Phone
- +44 23 9283 2333
- Established
- 2005
- Official site
- www.emporis.com
Sources
- manual: spinnaker-tower-portsmouth (manual)
- wikipedia: Spinnaker Tower (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Spinnaker Tower?
- Spinnaker Tower is in South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode PO1 3TY), in the parish of Portsmouth, unparished area.
- When was Spinnaker Tower built?
- Built or established in 2005.
- Who owns Spinnaker Tower?
- Spinnaker Tower is owned by | operator =.
- How do I get to Spinnaker Tower?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode PO1 3TY. It sits within the Portsmouth South parliamentary constituency.