The Olympic Park: from the Aquatic Centre to the Orbit
The Olympic Park is fun and very visitor-friendly. We loved our visit – though we didn’t get to see much of Team GB. I managed to get tickets for an early session on the first Monday for swimming heats. We also wanted to explore the park (you can't do that without a ticket) and to see inside Zaha Hadid’s Aquatic Centre.
This really is an inspiring building to be in, with its sweeping curves and huge turquoise pool. The seats are very steeply raked, and ours were at the very end of an already-full row. I was a bit worried I might tumble right down. Our view was fine – though there had been some controversy over obscured views of the diving boards.
Security checks were virtually instant when we arrived at just after eight in the morning - we were allowing two hours as instructed on a pretty firm "briefing" note. But crowds were very heavy later in the day.
Soldiers checking our bags were full of smiles and very quick. The Armed Forces all over the site were reassuring rather than threatening and made you feel rather proud. The voluntary “help” team was in full active mode – with cheery “welcomes” and Olympic/London patter from blokes who would have been at home on market stalls. Everyone smiles and is so eager to help.
It’s funny how the Union flag has been adopted as an (almost) fashion statement. It appears everywhere at these celebratory events, from small face-paint “tattoos” to leggings and trainers. Flags are worn casually draped as capes, or tied like sarongs.
A walk along the riverbank was a good idea – surprisingly, few people had ventured down there, and it takes you to the far end of the Park. You get breathtaking views of the wildflower gardens planted all over the place. I’ve now read that there are four “zones” representing different parts of the world. We never got to work that out, but some plants definitely looked more exotically “foreign” than others. Most were in full bloom – I wouldn't like to be in charge of the dead-heading. You also pass the Gloriana Barge, previous home to Her Majesty The Queen, and the flame. She looks suitably royal, but a little out of things now.
Two huge screens on either side of a box at the far end of the Park had sound carried via small speakers set in the grass – a brilliant idea, as people could lounge around at some distance away and still follow the action.
I'd booked our trip up the Orbit well in advance. Whatever you think of the strange structure from the outside (I still don't find it too appealing), it’s a great experience – an immersive sculpture that pulls you in. Whiz up in a lift with portholes that show your ascent. At the top, there are some open viewing areas, and some behind glass.
Views are framed by red metal tubing - which looks really good in this context. Look right down into the athletics stadium and then out over London, to spot the Shard creating a new skyline. In a central hall, Anish Kapoor’s signature mirrors take pounds off your weight – if you stand in the right place. A walk round and round a walkway right down to the bottom is surprisingly easy.
The Olympic “viewing suite” at John Lewis Stratford is attracting huge crowds – and more queues. Stratford station was scarily crowded but most people filtered off to use the tube and (still enthusing madly and maddenly) we actually got seats on the Overground railway directly back to Gunnersbury.
See more pictures on http://www.flickr.com/photos/barbarachandler/
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