Even if its bulk is familiar from a distance – and it’s hard to miss, by the Thames next to Vauxhall – you’ll still be impressed by the scale of Battersea Power Station up close.
Built between 1929 and 1955, this Art Deco edifice is one of the world’s largest brick-built buildings. One of its architects, Giles Gilbert Scott, also designed the famous red phone box, as well as Bankside Power Station, now home to Tate Modern.
At peak production, Battersea supplied a fifth of London’s electricity, but stopped generating power in 1983. In 1980 it was Grade II listed.
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After many years derelict, in 2018 the building was sold to Malaysian developers, in what was then Britain’s biggest property deal, and the power station reopened in 2022. This year its restoration won three awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
For the best first impression, catch the River Bus to Battersea Power Station, and get a great view from the Coaling Jetty, where ships delivered coal to fire the turbines, now home to a couple of bars. Its eponymous Tube station, on a spur of the Northern Line, opened in 2021.
Take Lift 109 to the top of the tower
Heading for the top of the chimney
(Image credit: Joshua Atkins)
Before the ascent, there’s an exhibition on the building’s history. You’re shepherded into a small room, where an immersive-type lightshow reveals more about its past. Then up 39 steps, and as the staircase curves, you realise you’re in the bottom of the chimney.
The lift is circular with see-through walls and roof, and ascends quickly and quietly through coloured rings of light, before popping out of the top of the chimney.
With no tall buildings nearby, the views from the top are uninterrupted
(Image credit: Joshua Atkins)
There’s no room for a platform so you stay in the lift, but the 360-degree view is stunning. You can, of course, see the other chimneys, the power station roof, the new high street, Electric Boulevard, behind the power station, river traffic, and across to the Royal Hospital. Further afield we picked out MI6 HQ, Crystal Palace, The Shard and Wembley Arch.
And after you’ve spotted London landmarks, look at the wall of the chimney and see how disturbingly thin it is!
Back down to earth, it’s an exit through the gift shop.
Adults from £17; children (three to 15) from £12.60. Booking online is cheaper – prices on the door are £23.60 and £17.55. It’s called Lift 109 because it’s 109 metres to the top.
On the inside
In contrast to its noisy, hot and dirty origins, inside it is light, airy and calming. The simple tiled walls are punctuated with occasional details such as scrolling, or brick patterns, with no garish ad displays.
Walkways lined with shops, bars and restaurants, plus a cinema, table-tennis, and virtual reality gaming, run the length of the turbine hall.
On the first floor there’s an exhibition of redevelopment plans over the years, some of which we must be grateful never came to fruition. Keep your eyes open for hints of the building’s past – pop into Uniqlo to see retro metal-framed windows, and look up for gantries and cabs.
Eating and drinking
There are over 50 places to eat and drink, from fine dining to a grab-and-go snack. Find Mexican tortillas at El Pastor, a Mediterranean menu at Megan’s, comfort food at Tashas, and Portuguese custard tarts in Santa Nata, or gelato at Venchi.
We opted for fresh pasta at Noci. Our mains were a crab and ricotta raviolo with baby courgettes, and rigatoni with spicy green olive and chilli pesto, both featuring perfectly al dente pasta enhanced by fresh-tasting ingredients.
From our table at Noci we could see Control Room B, which oversaw the output of Turbine Hall B, and as it’s now a cocktail bar, it was about to oversee our input. Sit at the back for a close-up view of the control desks, switch gear and mysterious knobs, switches, dials and displays dating from the 1950s.
Control Room B originally oversaw the output of Turbine Hall B
(Image credit: Johnny Stephens)
The menu is presented as a rolled-up blueprint and contains drinks named after power-generating processes and equipment, such as Voltmeter, Synchroscope and Feeder B1. The Ammeter topped vodka, peach and passion fruit with a sparkling wine froth and – with its nod to the 1930s by the inclusion of fassionola, a red fruity syrup – made the perfect toast to a south London day out with height and a sense of history.
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