IFS Cloud Cable Car

The IFS Cloud Cable Car dangles you 135 metres above the Thames between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks - it's genuinely thrilling, that moment when your stomach catches up with the cabin. The Emirates Air Line, as it was called before the sponsorship shuffle, takes roughly ten minutes for the full crossing, and most people spend half that glued to the windows.

It's not a leisurely sightseeing ride by any stretch. The views are decent - you get a proper sense of east London's sprawl, the Millennium Dome (sorry, the O2) looming across the water - but this is more about the experience of swinging over the city than photography stops. On a clear day you'll clock the City's towers and the Shard pricking the skyline.

Families with younger kids find it magical; they love the height and the slight sway. Older children might find it over quite quickly. Adults generally board thinking it'll be naff and come off pleasantly surprised.

You're looking at around £10 return, though prices fluctuate with demand and off-peak slots are cheaper. It's efficient rather than atmospheric - they pack folk in, move them through - so don't expect boutique treatment. Worth doing once, particularly if you're staying at nearby glamping like Abbey Wood's offering and need a proper London buzz without the Underground crush. Combine it with a walk around Greenwich's riverside and you've got a proper afternoon sorted.