Cliff Railway

In 1890 a public meeting was called to discuss a new means of communication between the High Town and Low Town of Bridgnorth, avoiding the need to scale the 200 plus steps. The meeting was reported in the local press, and the matter came to the attention of Mr. G. Croydon Marks. Mr. Croydon Marks and Mr. George Newnes, M.P. subsequently laid a proposal before the town council for the erection of a Patent Cliff Railway, or inclined lift. Plans were finally accepted for a route from the bottom of the Stoneway Steps to the end of the Castle Walk and consequently a company entitled The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway Company Ltd was registered in 1891.

The original patented design of the railway was for a single track with two cars, with a crossing point mid way between top and bottom, but this was abandoned in favour of a double track. When finished, the track measured 201 ft long, with a vertical rise of 111ft. This gave the railway an incline of 33°, the steepest in England.

The railway opened on 7th July 1892. The ceremony was performed by the Mayor, and in celebration the local townspeople enjoyed a public holiday. Between July and September 1892 over 50,000 passengers used the railway. The railway ran continuously for the next 41 years, until April 1933. In May 1934 it was reopened by new shareholders.

Bridgnorth's Cliff Railway is open all year round (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day) and costs just one pound for a return journey. It's open 8am (Sunday 12noon) to 8pm in summer and 8am (Sunday 12noon) to 6.30pm in winter.

It's suitable for ambulant disabled (though sadly it's not wheelchair accessible), and help is given with folding wheelchairs and pushchairs.