Tower 42

The 183m (600ft) Tower 42 is the second tallest skyscraper in the City of London (after the 246m Heron Tower) and the sixth tallest building in London as a whole. The view from the top is now being monitored by the Tower 42 Bird Study Group, which seems to be coy about access to birders in general. Can anyone provide access information?

Address: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HQ (Map:; OS grid reference TQ330813)

History
Tower 42 was designed by architect Richard Seifert for the international banking division of National Westminster Bank — hence its earlier name of the NatWest Tower and a structure that, seen from above, closely resembles the bank’s logo of three chevrons in a hexagonal arrangement. It was completed in 1980 and formally opened by the Queen on 11 July 1981. The tower is now owned by UK property company Greycoat, which renamed it Tower 42 in reference to its 42 cantilevered floors. It is now a general-purpose office building occupied by a variety of companies. The Tower 42 Bird Study Group was launched in the spring of 2010, with involvement from the British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the London Bird Club (the ornithology section of the London Natural History Society), the Tower 42 management and Opticron. During spring and autumn, bird migration will be recorded from the roof of the tower. The first watch took place on 7 April 2010.

Habitat
The viewing area is a concrete platform with little chance of birdlife on it, but the view on a fine day emcompasses an enormous area of central London’s skies.

Species
Birds

Sightings in April 2010 include Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk. Other species, mainly on or around the Thames, were Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Mallard, Coot, Woodpigeon and Blackbird.

Other vertebrates

Anybody seen any fish up here yet?

Invertebrates

A Painted Lady butterfly visited the top of the tower on 13 April 2010.

Practicalities
Directions

The site is a short walk from stations at Bank, Aldwych, Liverpool Street and Moorgate.

Access

Come on, somebody. Fill in the details. Is it true that access is freely available to any member of the London Bird Club?

Facilities

The tower features several posh restaurants, plus a branch of Wagamama.

''This page has been cobbled together from internet sources by someone who has never visited the site but thinks that it deserves a page on this website because it keeps cropping up on the Latest News page. If you are familiar with the site, please correct, expand and/or update this information (and delete or amend this paragraph).