Duckpin and Tenpin Bowling Alley at The O2: Hollywood Bowl

Hollywood Bowl at The O2 is the only bowling alley inside the arena district on Greenwich Peninsula, with 13 tenpin lanes and six duckpin lanes after a £1.35 million refit. It sits at Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX, a short walk from North Greenwich station on the Jubilee line. Three games start from £13 per person when booked online, so if you are typing bowling alley near me before a show at the arena, this is the closest lane to the doors.

Hollywood Bowl spent £1.35 million overhauling this centre. The refit installed 13 new tenpin lanes, extended the arcade, added six lanes of duckpin bowling, upgraded the bar and diner and rebuilt the reception. Duckpin is the short-lane American version with small pins and a ball that fits in one hand, and the O2 centre is one of the few places in London where you can try it beside a full tenpin floor.

The operator runs 72 centres across the UK, each with a licensed bar, a Hollywood Diner and an amusements zone. What sets the O2 branch apart is its address rather than its size. You can arrive by Jubilee line, bowl, eat and then walk to an arena show without going back outside the entertainment district. That convenience is also the main thing to plan around, because 13 lanes fill fast when a concert crowd arrives early.

Duckpin plays differently from tenpin. The pins are shorter and squatter, the ball has no finger holes and sits in your palm, and each player normally gets three rolls per frame instead of two because the small pins are harder to topple. Scores run much lower, so a duckpin game at 100 is a very good result. It is a good leveller for mixed groups, since the strong tenpin bowler has little advantage.

Every Hollywood Bowl centre page also shows a live leaderboard of the day's top scores, updated as games finish. On the day this guide was researched, the O2 board was led by a bowler logged as Birthday boi on 155, with Joseph on 140 and Daddy on 133. It gives a realistic target: a score above 150 on these lanes is enough to top the board on an ordinary day.

Pricing is by deal rather than one flat game rate. The three games offer starts from £13 per person. Eat, Drink and Bowl starts from £10 per person and includes one game, a burger or hot dog with fries, and squash for juniors or a drink for adults, with alcohol for over-18s only. Two games and two drinks starts from £17.50 per person, available all day Monday to Friday and after 7pm on Sunday, but not during school holidays.

Hollywood Bowl's own advice is that booking before 11am on weekdays gets the best lane prices, and the centre is usually quieter then too. Junior pricing applies to anyone under 16. Gift e-vouchers are sold in £10 and £20 amounts. For a kids' party, the Kids Birthday Party package starts from £12 per head for ages five to ten, with an hour of bowling, a kids' meal at the lane, unlimited squash and a free game voucher.

The centre estimates around 45 minutes for one game with up to six players, or about an hour and a half for two games, allowing roughly ten minutes per player per game. If your concert doors open at 6:30pm, a single game booked at 5pm leaves time to eat in the diner and walk across Peninsula Square. Two games before a show is tight; book one and add a second only if the lane is free.

Friday and Saturday evenings, school holidays and wet weekends are the busiest periods, and the centre says all 13 lanes can be taken hours ahead on those nights. Walk-ins are accepted whenever there is space, but there is no guarantee. On an arena night, if the wait at reception is longer than one game, take the duckpin lanes instead or come back after the show, since the centre stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Bumpers can be raised on any lane, lighter balls are available, and ramps let very young children push the ball themselves. The duckpin lanes are a better first game for small hands because the ball is light and the lane is short. Outside food and drink are not allowed. The Bar and Diner serves burgers, wings, pizza, sharing platters and kids' meals that can be ordered to the lane, and halal options are available at this centre.

For wheelchair users, Hollywood Bowl asks guests to contact the centre before travelling to learn the step-free routes, accessible toilets, lane ramps and the nearest parking to the door. That is a fair approach for a building wrapped inside the arena complex, where the route depends on which entrance you use. One honest verdict: skip the amusements if you are on a budget, because tokens add up faster than the bowling.

Weekday mornings bring school groups, since the operator sells school trips with an hour of bowling and a meal from £6.70 per child and one free teacher place for every six pupils. Holiday afternoons are family time, with parents using the bumpers and ramps. From early evening the mix changes to friends and couples filling time before a gig. Larger work groups of 20 to 500 guests are handled by a separate corporate events team, which arranges callbacks between 9am and 8:30pm.

The Thames Path runs right around Greenwich Peninsula, and the riverside stretch west of the arena gives open views across to Canary Wharf. The IFS Cloud Cable Car leaves from the peninsula terminal near the arena and crosses the river to the Royal Docks. The Tide, an elevated walkway with public art, runs south from North Greenwich station through the new Peninsula neighbourhood and suits a short walk while you wait for a lane.

Address: Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, London SE10 0DX. Hours this week: Mon to Wed 12pm to 11pm, Thu 10:30am to 11pm, Fri and Sat 10am to midnight, Sun 10am to 11pm; the centre changes hours for bank holidays, school holidays and events. Station: North Greenwich, Jubilee line. Booking: online at hollywoodbowl.co.uk, which is the only way to guarantee a lane. Deals start at £10 per person.