London Eye
— — the wheel that holds the city in slow rotation.
Not only on a wall.
“The cantilevered observation wheel that rises 135 metres over the South Bank of the Thames, directly opposite Westminster. Thirty-two sealed glass capsules turn once every thirty minutes, slow enough that nobody quite notices the city has rearranged itself underneath them. At night the wheel is lit, and the river takes the colour twice, once on the water and once on the rain.
London Eye, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The London Eye is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the Thames in the London Borough of Lambeth, directly across from the Palace of Westminster. It stands 135 metres tall, the tallest cantilevered observation wheel in the world when it opened in 2000, designed by Marks Barfield Architects. Thirty-two sealed glass capsules, one for each London borough, each hold up to 25 passengers and complete a single rotation in about 30 minutes. The wheel sits beside Jubilee Gardens, a five-minute walk from Waterloo Station.
The wheel is lit after dark, most evenings a soft white, on civic occasions a colour assigned by the City. The capsules pick up the river's reflection on the inside curve, so passengers near the apex see the Thames both below and beside them. Sunset rides on clear winter evenings carry the strongest sequence: the sun drops behind Westminster, the wheel turns through the last of the gold, and the Palace floodlights come on as the capsule clears the southern quadrant. Tickets are timed, with the last rotation in summer departing around 20:30.
Tickets are timed-entry, generally £29 to £40 for a standard adult rotation depending on day and season; fast-track and combination tickets cost more. The queue moves continuously because the wheel does not stop to board. The South Bank runs from Westminster Bridge past the Royal Festival Hall to the National Theatre, a 1.5 km riverside walk, paved and step-free. Waterloo Station sits 400 metres east; Westminster Underground is across the bridge. Capsules are accessible and air-conditioned, and the operator advises arriving thirty minutes before the booked time.