The Clifton Suspension Bridge from the path up to the Clifton Observatory.
- Aperture: ƒ/2.8
- Camera: PENTAX Optio A20
- Focal length: 7.9mm
- ISO: 64
The Clifton Suspension Bridge from the path up to the Clifton Observatory.
The Clifton pier of the Clifton Suspension Bridge framed by a window in the Clifton Observatory.
The Clifton Observatory, The Giant’s Cave and the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The Giant’s Cave, or Ghyston’s Cave, is about three-quarters of the way up the gorge face. Before the tunnel from the Observatory opened in 1837 it was a long climb in either up or down.
The Clifton Suspension Bridge was always something that we looked out for on day trips to Weston-Super-Mare by rail. If we were lucky we would see if lit up on the way home.
Looking down from the Clifton Suspension Bridge into the muddy River Avon. Just visible between the second white van and the white walled building is the irregular shape of the bottom station of the Clifton Rocks Railway. The Clifton Rocks Railway was a short-lived underground funicular. The tunnel acted as an air raid shelter during World War 2.
The Clifton Observatory peeks through the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Clifton Suspension Bridge from Leigh Woods looking back to Clifton and the centre of Bristol. The massive white chains that suspend the bridge deck are clearly visible. The inscription on the pier reads “Suspensa Vix Via Fit”, or a suspended road made with difficulty. An understatement given the protracted story of the bridge’s construction.
The end of the Clifton Suspension Bridge run.
More Clifton Suspension Bridge photos.
Great Western Railway icon Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but it wasn’t completed until after his death. Hawkshaw and Barlow altered the design to use chains from the recently demolished Hungerford bridge in London, another Brunel design.
John Hawkshaw went on to design the Severn Tunnel for the GWR, while Barlow designed Barlow rails used for the GWR’s broad gauge and more famously the St Pancras railway station for the Midland Railway.