Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower is like a giant sail on the dock. It was supposed to be a millennium project but only opened last year and as you can see it is still under construction in the Google Maps photo. There’s loads of photos and a live webcam on BBC Hampshire.

Just to the north is the Portsmouth docklands where Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, the HMS Victory, is docked. Although built in the 1760s it is still manned by the Royal Navy and is the world’s oldest commissioned warship.

There’s also the HMS Warrior (”The pride of Queen Victoria“) and the HMS Ark Royal, one of the only 2 UK Aircraft Carriers still in commission.

Thanks: Tom Lithgow, Jonathan Rawle, redstar1, paul d

The Emley Moor Tower (formerly the NTL Tower) is a transmitting station in an area of moorland near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. It’s Britain’s tallest free-standing structure at 330m and casts no shadow in this excellent aerial shot.

Thanks: Jonathan Rawle

Another member of the World Federation of Great Towers is Blackpool Tower on the famous seaside Promenade. Obviously inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Blackpool’s version also features Britain’s highest post box and the ‘Walk of Faith’ glass floor, a two inch thick clear panel that looks straight down to the ground 158m below.

Just to the south is Coral Island, a pirate-themed amusement arcade with some Large Type on the roof to advertise to those visiting the Tower.

Thanks: Craig & Tom

Crazy, but there appears to be a biplane, complete with runway, on the roof of 77 Water Street, NY.

So what’s it doing there? NYC Architecture says that it’s a a full-size model of a WWI Sopwith Camel, designed by Rudolph de Harak and built in 1969 – primarily to amuse the inhabitants of surrounding scyscrapers, notably the World Trade Center.

You can rotate around the plane on Windows Live Local, but bear in mind that sometimes the other buildings will obstruct your view. For the ultimate in close-ups, here’s a fantastic photo from a neighbouring building.

Thanks to Chris and Maté Tamasko.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower in the Italian city of Pisa. Originally meant to be vertical the first stone was laid on August 9, 1173 but by 1178 it was pretty obvious that the tower has some stability issues.

In Superman III the evil Superman had no problems straitening out the lean but in reality the tower had to be closed for a decade and local houses evacuated while the world’s engineers made the building stable for at least another 300 years.

To the west of the tower is the cathedral and then the round building is the baptistry. The white square to the north is a walled off cemetery.

Thanks: Scott Ventura, Simone, eRez, Gianni