THE NATIONAL LIFT TOWER
The highest abseil - whether in a natural or built environment - that’s widely available to the public in the UK is found in Northampton. This town isn’t famous for skyscrapers, so what’s behind this claim to fame? It’s the National Lift Tower, a 127.5-metre (418-foot) structure built in the 1980s to test lifts (or elevators) for highrise buildings. With a no-frills concrete design which has earned it the nickname of “the Northampton Lighthouse,” as well as the impressive height and descents on both the exterior and in enclosed shafts, it’s ideal for rappelling.
ARCELORMITTAL ORBIT
Sometimes, abseiling involves walking yourself down a vertical or near vertical surface. Other times, you just lower yourself down a rope through thin air. This is known as freefall abseiling and it just so happens the highest regularly available freefall abseil in the country takes place at one of London’s modern landmarks - the ArcelorMittal Orbit. This swirling steel sculpture-meets-observation tower was built for the London Olympic games in 2012, and the 114.5-metre artwork now hosts sheer-drop abseils from a height of 80 metres.
THE SPINNAKER TOWER
Another iconic tower that hosts abseil events is the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. Its bulging design evokes a sail in the wind, honouring the maritime history of this port city, and the views that stretch across the Solent to the Isle of Wight are breathtaking - as is the 100-metre drop beneath your feet as you start to descend!
K2 HULL
Moving to the North of England, the K2 building is in the heart of Kingston upon Hull. Within its walls, you’ll find the offices of recruitment companies, architectural firms, investment funds and the like, leaving the really exciting stuff for the exterior. Abseiling events can be organised on K2’s façade, which stands at a height of 61 metres.
LARPOOL VIADUCT
Not quite urban but certainly industrial, the 32-metre-high Larpool Viaduct was built in the Victorian era to carry trains over the River Esk to Whitby in North Yorkshire. As you’ll be descending from the top over one of the 13 arches of the viaduct, this abseil quickly becomes a freefall experience.
ONE-OFFS
As we’ve mentioned above, any tall building or structure can be a target for abseilers. Based on practicality, demand and regulations,some places don’t become regular abseil sites, but have been used (and may be used again) as sites for one-off events. Here’s a selection of some of the most interesting.
122 Leadenhall Street - "The Cheesegrater"
Like the Orbital, the building at 122 Leadenhall Street is a bold statement of modern London. It’s in a more crowded part of the skyline, the financial district of the City, but it’s just as eye-catching and controversial as its Olympic Park contemporary. The wedge shape is responsible for its nickname - "the Cheesegrater” - which is the perfect match for the nearby Gherkin. A lucky group of abseilers enjoyed unrivalled views of all of these towers and more when they descended the face of the building several years ago. At a dizzying height of 200 metres, this was the biggest abseil undertaken by members of the public ever in the UK.
Liverpool Cathedral
Before the age of the skyscraper, it was religious buildings that dominated our cities. They remain striking examples of architectural achievement whose towers and spires are still among the tallest structures in city skylines. But it was over the enormous West Door of Liverpool Cathedral that a 46-metre freefall abseil took place back in 2021, organised by a charity.
Broadgate Tower
Here’s one you might recognise - if you’ve seen the 2012 James Bond epic Skyfall, you’ll remember a scene in which Daniel Craig infiltrates a skyscraper in Shanghai. It turns out that some cinematic jiggery-pokery was used to disguise the fact that you were actually looking at the Broadgate Tower in the City of London. The 165-metre glass-and-steel face of the tower created the mise-en-scene for some real life action too, when it was the location of a special abseiling event.
Castlemead Tower
Last on the list is the 80-metre Castlemead Tower in the fair city of Bristol. Over £10,000 was collected for a local hospice by a brave group of 40 fundraisers who walked their way backwards down the 18-storey tower block in the summer of 2022.
For some people, adventure will always be about exploring remote, faraway places. But we’ll take our thrills where we can get them. Urban abseiling might not give us the landscape vistas that you can find in the great outdoors, but it’s a chance to become part of the skyline of Britain’s towns and cities, and you don’t have to spend all day getting to your destination. Can’t say fairer than that.
