Lloyd Bickham takes up the new challenge of reaching the top of Alexandra Palace

ALEXANDRA Palace continues to live up to its title as “the People’s Palace”, adding yet another attraction to its name.

This time, it’s home to the UK’s highest roof walk, accessed by hidden staircases and serving up a sweeping panorama of the city.

Ally Pally’s park is already a favourite for viewing London’s ever-changing skyline – our guide points out a cluster of Canary Wharf buildings which have “sprung up since the pandemic” – but from our 130-metre vantage point, even the tinny-drinking teens using the palace grounds to observe the city look like ants.

Our tour is steeped in history.

Halfway up the building, we get a rare close-up look at its iconic round Rose Window, which has stood the test of wartime damage and a devastating 1980 fire.

It’s at this point that we get into our climbing gear, ready for the rooftop ascent.

Lloyd Bickham at the summit

It’s a reassuringly easy, if nippy, route to the top, as steps have been specially constructed, but expect gasps still at the sheer beauty of the palace.

Sun shimmers across the Palm Court in postcard fashion – it’s easy to forget that the main attraction is the sprawling metropolis in store.

We turn a corner and London reveals itself.

We survey “our kingdom”, a phrase already used by another group today, apparently.

The more we look, the more we see. Tiny trains trundle along. The Olympic Park is just visible, the Shard towers over St Paul’s, and I think I can see my house.

Our guide informs us that peregrine falcons nest in the palace’s BBC tower, which we look down on: “Did you know that David Tennant actually climbed the transmitter for a scene in Doctor Who?”

The palace is teeming with activity – an ice rink, the Great Hall, a Victorian theatre.

A tapestry of roofs is stitched together below us, each telling a story of change as the building has been reconstructed over the years.

We pose for pictures and make our descent. In the haze of it all, I forgot how chilly the winds had become.

As we return to the land of the ants, we’re left with an appreciation of what a special place this is.

We’d complained about the buses on the way in.

We felt lucky to live in this beautiful city as we made our way home.