Soaring to 310m above the ground, The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe, justly celebrated for its elegant architecture and elevation that delivers the most commanding views of London..
Before this extraordinary building opened to the public in 2013, a small group of people were given the unique opportunity to abseil from the pinnacle of The Shard in aid of charity. Trained by The Outward Bound Trust, supported by the Royal Marines Commandos, and guaranteed an exhilarating and utterly memorable experience. The group included HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, Ffion Hague and Sir Chris Bonnington. Together, this small group of people raised a landmark sum for two charities dedicated to helping those facing personal and physical challenges: The Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund.
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Testimonial
Iain Peter"In 2012 the Outward Bound Trust, working with the Royal Marines, organised an abseil descent of the Shard (the tallest building in Western Europe). All of the abseilers were novices (the event was organised to raise funds for two charities - the Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund) and the building had never been abseiled before. Brian was intimately involved in all aspects of the project - the planning, selection of the equipment, fine tuning the abseil system and training the participants. Most importantly, Brian was the leader of the 30 Royal Marines who made the descent possible. On the day of the abseil Brian supervised the longest single descent (over 150m vertical meters).
The fact that the project was an astounding success (over £1,500,000 was raised) and all of the abseilers completed the descent uneventfully is testament to Brian's rare combination of skills - he understands the technical requirements of working at height in dangerous and challenging locations, he is well organised and, crucially, he is first class leader who gets the best out of his team. It was great to work with him on such a big project and I look forward to finding further opportunities for collaboration."
International Mountain Guide
Executive Director
Outward Bound International
Abseiling down The Shard
The participants were given a warm welcome and plenty of encouragement
Royal Marines Commando's lead and assisted with the abseil
The Night draws in around The Shard