Fourteen years after it opened as part of London’s 2012 Olympic preparations, the London Cable Car has just carried its 20 millionth passenger, a genuine milestone for what’s still the UK’s only urban cable car.
The route, a little under 15 minutes end to end, links Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, crossing the Thames at up to 90 metres up. It’s picked up back-to-back Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2025 and 2026, and currently sits in the top 10% of things to do worldwide on the platform, genuinely strong company for what started life as an Olympics-era transport add-on rather than a destination in its own right.
Twenty million crossings, and a lot more than crossings
Beyond the crossing itself, the cable car has quietly built out a proper roster of extras over the years: a Glass Floor Experience for anyone who wants their 90-metre view with an added drop beneath their feet, a Champagne Experience for the opposite instinct, and a steady stream of live music, karaoke nights, speed dating, book launches and, apparently, more than one marriage proposal.
The newest addition is a £1 audio guide
The newest addition is POPGuide, a £1 interactive audio guide narrated by the cable car’s own mascot, Engi-Bear, that talks you through the route’s landmarks as you cross, the Thames Barrier, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, ExCeL London, and how the wider Docklands skyline has changed over the years. It’s a genuinely nice, low-cost way to make the crossing feel like more than just a river hop. Families can also book Engi-Bear’s Football Adventure, a themed round trip with an activity booklet and a flag hunt, running through the summer at the Greenwich Peninsula terminal.
The London x London Take: the real story here isn’t the milestone number itself, it’s that a piece of Olympic infrastructure nobody expected to last has turned into one of London’s more distinctive short trips, cheap, quick, and genuinely scenic in a way that plenty of pricier attractions aren’t. Twenty million people have now worked that out.
Need to know
Where: Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks terminals
Price: One-way from £7 for adults, £3.50 for children, under-5s free
Journey time: Under 15 minutes
