As we were visiting friends in Shropshire we overnighted in Bridgnorth, an attractive and historic town not far away. The town is divided into Low Town, around the River Severn, and High Town which is reached by steep paths or steps - or a funicular railway. We stayed in Low Town, which had flooded a couple of weeks earlier - but everything seemed back to normal by the time we visited.
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| The town hall, with market arches beneath. When the local council built a new Italianate style market hall in the 19th century the traders refused to use it and it still stands more or less derelict |
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| Northgate, rebuilt in the 1740s |
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| The Unitarian church, near the castle ruins |
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| St Leonard’s church stands on small hill overlooking the High Street |
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| The church is surrounded by fine houses |
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| The 12th century castle was attacked and blown up by Cromwell’s forces in 1646 |
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| Not much of the castle remained after the siege |
Bridgnorth has one of the few inland funicular railways. Unfortunately it was closed for repairs when we visited so we couldn’t enjoy the short but steep journey from the river Severn to the High Street, with the conductor announcing ‘High town’.
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| The Cliff Railway funicular links the two parts of the town |
Instead we walked up the steep, narrow Cartway, enjoying its historic buildings. To go back down, we used one of the ten very long sets of steps. We chose Stoneway Steps which were fairly shallow because they were originally for donkeys to transport goods up and down the hill. It is said there are 137 steps in total.
