Latest news with #funicular
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Crowds turn out for Victorian lift celebrations
Crowds of people turned out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of Britain's oldest funicular railways. Built in 1875, Scarborough Spa Cliff Lift is marking a major milestone with a host of live performances, activities and heritage exhibitions at the spa and lift itself. On the first day of celebrations on Saturday, a ceremony took place echoing the lift's original launch accompanied by a brass band. Alan Wilson, the lift's longest-serving supervisor who has worked there for 24 years, said: "It isn't a job, it's a hobby." Mr Wilson said he loved working as a lift supervisor and, within the first two hours of starting the job, he knew he wanted to stay. "It's the scenery, meeting all the people, I love it." The Spa Cliff Lift was heralded as "a marvel of Victorian engineering" and used to transport passengers between the hotels on the Esplanade and the spa. It cost £8,000 to build and was originally powered by water and gas engines until it was converted to run on electricity in the 1950s. Christopher James, Scarborough Spa and cliff lift manager, said the lift was very popular with about 200,000 journeys made each year. He said: "It's like a fairground ride with a beautiful view. When you're travelling down in it, it's spectacular." The programme of entertainment events, which have been organised by North Yorkshire Council and Scarborough Spa, will continue until 17:00 BST on Sunday. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Victorian cliff lift celebrates 150th birthday Scarborough Spa North Yorkshire Council
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Crowds turn out for Victorian lift celebrations
Crowds of people turned out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of Britain's oldest funicular railways. Built in 1875, Scarborough Spa Cliff Lift is marking a major milestone with a host of live performances, activities and heritage exhibitions at the spa and lift itself. On the first day of celebrations on Saturday, a ceremony took place echoing the lift's original launch accompanied by a brass band. Alan Wilson, the lift's longest-serving supervisor who has worked there for 24 years, said: "It isn't a job, it's a hobby." Mr Wilson said he loved working as a lift supervisor and, within the first two hours of starting the job, he knew he wanted to stay. "It's the scenery, meeting all the people, I love it." The Spa Cliff Lift was heralded as "a marvel of Victorian engineering" and used to transport passengers between the hotels on the Esplanade and the spa. It cost £8,000 to build and was originally powered by water and gas engines until it was converted to run on electricity in the 1950s. Christopher James, Scarborough Spa and cliff lift manager, said the lift was very popular with about 200,000 journeys made each year. He said: "It's like a fairground ride with a beautiful view. When you're travelling down in it, it's spectacular." The programme of entertainment events, which have been organised by North Yorkshire Council and Scarborough Spa, will continue until 17:00 BST on Sunday. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Victorian cliff lift celebrates 150th birthday Scarborough Spa North Yorkshire Council
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Crowds join Scarborough's Victorian lift birthday celebrations
Crowds of people turned out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of Britain's oldest funicular in 1875, Scarborough Spa Cliff Lift is marking a major milestone with a host of live performances, activities and heritage exhibitions at the spa and lift the first day of celebrations on Saturday, a ceremony took place echoing the lift's original launch accompanied by a brass Wilson, the lift's longest-serving supervisor who has worked there for 24 years, said: "It isn't a job, it's a hobby." Mr Wilson said he loved working as a lift supervisor and, within the first two hours of starting the job, he knew he wanted to stay."It's the scenery, meeting all the people, I love it."The Spa Cliff Lift was heralded as "a marvel of Victorian engineering" and used to transport passengers between the hotels on the Esplanade and the cost £8,000 to build and was originally powered by water and gas engines until it was converted to run on electricity in the James, Scarborough Spa and cliff lift manager, said the lift was very popular with about 200,000 journeys made each said: "It's like a fairground ride with a beautiful view. When you're travelling down in it, it's spectacular."The programme of entertainment events, which have been organised by North Yorkshire Council and Scarborough Spa, will continue until 17:00 BST on Sunday. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Scarborough's Victorian cliff lift celebrates 150th birthday
One of Britain's oldest funicular railways is celebrating a major milestone this weekend with a series of family-friendly events. Built in 1875, Scarborough Spa Cliff Lift is marking its 150th mark the occasion, North Yorkshire Council and Scarborough Spa are hosting live performances, activities and heritage exhibitions at the spa and lift James, Scarborough Spa and cliff lift manager, said many generations of visitors shared fond memories of riding in the carriages up the cliffside. "There are a lot of people who have grown up and come to Scarborough with their grandparents or their parents and now they're bringing their children back to the lift," he said."It's a 40-second journey but it just seems to be quite memorable - it's that nostalgia as well."The Spa Cliff Lift was heralded as "a marvel of Victorian engineering" and used to transport passengers between the hotels on the Esplanade and the cost £8,000 to build and was originally powered by water and gas engines until it was converted to run on electricity in the 1950s. Alan Wilson, the lift's longest-serving supervisor, said he has "no plans to retire just yet"."I've worked on the lift for 23 years, and I still love it," he said."The best part is seeing visitors come back year after year. Everyone has a story to tell about the lift – it's part of what makes Scarborough so special."The weekend celebrations will include a live brass band, and Scarborough-based arts group Animated Objects will display working models of the commissioned in honour of the anniversary can also be viewed in the recently redeveloped South Cliff Gardens. Artist Adrian Lewis and poet Charlotte Riley collaborated to create the piece, which captures people's memories of both the lift and the gardens as "micro-poems".These are displayed on small metal plaques, designed to look like Victorian lift Riley said: "It's about people condensing down their treasured memories in very few words - they're very personal snippets of stories but quite a lot of them have really universal appeal."The programme of entertainment events for the Spa Cliff Lift anniversary will run from 11:00 BST to 17:00 BST between 5-6 July. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The unusual world record holding attraction that is Southbourne Lift
We delve into the archives and explore the record-breaking attraction that is Southbourne Lift through vintage postcard images. Also known as the Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway, it was first opened in 1935, and was the last of three cliff railways to be constructed in Bournemouth. It joined the West Cliff and East Cliff lifts, providing an innovative solution for beachgoers to navigate the steep coastal cliffs. ' While the East Cliff lift ceased operations in 2016 following a landslide and the West Cliff lift continues to operate, the Southbourne Lift holds a unique place in both local history and global records. Built with the dual purpose of offering convenient beach access, particularly for those with mobility challenges, and boosting tourism, the funicular railway quickly became a cherished local landmark. Its design is classic funicular: two counterbalanced cars on parallel tracks, connected by a cable, smoothly traversing the incline powered by an electric motor. Read more: Nights out clubbing in Bournemouth in 1998 - in pictures How this 19th century Bournemouth pub got its unusual name 'I woke up a Dorset Dumpling': The day we were moved into Dorset The journey along its 128-foot track takes a mere 30 seconds from top to bottom. This brief ride earned the Southbourne Lift a prestigious title. In 2015, it was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the shortest funicular railway in the world, a record it proudly retains to this day. Typically operating from Easter to October, the lift is a popular draw, offering not just a convenient descent to the beach but also picturesque views of the coastline. Following essential repairs and significant improvements, the lift reopened in July 2023. Join us in celebrating this much-loved, record-holding piece of Bournemouth's heritage as we glance back at its story through a collection of old postcard pictures.
