A funicular railway ride....

Bridgnorth, Shropshire (Inc Birmingham), England Heart Of Inc Birmingham

Recommendation added: 28/05/2006 16:54
By: igotastaff (YSUK rating +9)

igotastaff has been thanked 1 times for this contribution

"I love Bridgenorth. I find it a great place to escape with the kids away from the usual hustle and bustle of normal life. There are things here that you won't find in many other places.
The only real MUST when visiting bridgenorth is a good pair of sensible walking shoes , no six inch heels.
Bridgenorth I believe was the busiest river port in England in the past and is seperated into two towns by the river,funnily enough called high town and low town.The river itself is a marvellous sight with loads of water fowl to see and feed.
Now to access high town you can either brave the steps (called donkey steps) of which there are many or you can go the fun way by using the Victorian Cliff Railway.
The railway is called a funicular ( my daughter told me as she had seen one on tv).When you reach the top you can read all about it.I'll tell you more in a mo.
The Fares are 80p return but under 6 go free.Be Aware though that there is no wheelchair access but puschairs that fold can be taken on board.It operates 8-8 Monday to Saturday and 12-8 on Sundays.The kids love the ride but my hubby was suspicously quiet on the ride up , moaning about the counterweight system and how far down it would be if the cable broke.This fear was made worse for him when we reached the top ( I think theres a reason all the info is at the top not the bottom before you get on) You'll find that the cliff railway was built in 1892 and transports you 111 ft up the cliff face.Of course my hubby pointed out that the ride down would be worse now as he had to think about the age of the thing.
Even so it is a fantastic ride and the view is superb.There are continuos trips so the most you wait is a couple of minutes for a ride.The towns themselves are quiet and just what you'd want to see from a proper english town.There are loads of little shops selling all sorts of wares and some great antique stores and house clearance shops where you will find a treasure trove of goodies.
Be sure to walk through Bridgenorth castle gardens and see the remains of the norman castle which is leaning at a precarious degree supposedly more than the leaning tower of pisa.
All in all the trip was lovely and we all had fun.The kids had a view of how towns were and visited the museums .The only thing is that it involves a lot of walking to see everything but it is well worth it.
Visit Beautiful Bridgenorth...Enjoy your visit...."