Saltburn's funicular tramway reopens after two years

The cliff tramway makes short work of the steep incline from beach to town

An iconic cliff tramway has reopened after maintenance problems and the pandemic closed it for two years.

Saltburn's Victorian funicular, which carries visitors up the steep incline from beach to town, was closed for repairs in 2019 and kept shut by the first lockdown in March 2020.

The lift, which was built in 1884, is the oldest of its kind in Britain.

Trevor Russell, who works on it, said they had tried to get it ready in time to open at Easter.

"But we still had ongoing work and ongoing tests and we still had insurance testing to do before we could allow the public on," he said.

Responding to the news on the tramway's Facebook page, June Potts, who comes from South Shields but now lives in Ontario in Canada, said: "Too late for me, after 40 days in Saltburn I am now back in Canada, although I did walk down the 184 steps."

The carriages are fully accessible

The railway is one of the seaside town's most popular tourist attractions.

It moves up and down the cliff, linking the town with the beach 120ft (37m) below using water as a counter-weight.

Visitors to the newly refurbished funicular said it was "crucial" that small towns preserved their history and said the "old-fashioned English seaside town" was "brought back to life again" when it was working.

The lift transports people from the town's pier up the steep incline to the top of the cliff