Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth in Shropshire is one of the most unusual and most visually interesting small towns in England, a town divided into High Town and Low Town by the dramatic sandstone gorge of the River Severn and connected by the steepest funicular cliff railway in England, the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway opened in 1892. The combination of the medieval and later architecture of the High Town perched above the river, the commercial character of Low Town at the riverside and the dramatic topography that separates them creates one of the most distinctive townscapes in the English Midlands.
The remains of Bridgnorth Castle, reduced to a fragment of the original Norman keep by Parliamentary demolition following the Civil War siege of 1646, lean at a greater angle than the Tower of Pisa following the destruction of their lower sections, providing one of the most improbable architectural features in any English town. The Civil War history of Bridgnorth, which was one of the last Royalist strongholds in the Midlands, permeates the town's heritage and the local museum provides an excellent account of the siege and its aftermath.
The High Town contains a remarkable collection of timber-framed buildings including the extraordinary Bishop Percy's House of 1580, one of the finest examples of Elizabethan half-timbered architecture in Shropshire. The Severn Valley Railway, one of the finest heritage steam railways in Britain, connects Bridgnorth with Kidderminster through the beautiful Severn Valley and provides one of the most rewarding railway heritage experiences in England.