Sadly, my visit to Heron Tower did nothing to distil my fears. If anything, it compounded them!
First I had to get past the rather impressive gauntlet of security; a rather large and inquisitive porter called Peter, a well-dressed security guard on the inside of the revolving doors and a complex three-tiered receptionist system.
After managing to get past all of these by saying that I was here to ‘take a look at the layout of the stairwell’ and ‘take some pictures too’, a rather serious looking man appeared. I came clean and he very kindly showed me towards the starting point of the run, deep in the basement of the tower.
While dazzling the maintenance manager (he looked a bit bored really) with my graceful ‘trial strides’ up the stairs and around the corners, I managed to take some pictures.
Wrecked already!
The stairs looked eerie. Tall and menacing with 9 steps on the straights and 4 steps on the turns between landing areas, they sat, both mocking and silent. In short, the stairwell is glass and stainless steel throughout.
If the 29/10/11 is even a mildly warm day, then I pity everyone taking part. Just walking up two flights I could really feel the heat.
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At the top!
The Gherkin
Your Body Needs You 