Gobbins Cliff Path reopens after repairs

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The Gobbins Cliff Path in Islandmagee
Image caption,

The County Antrim attraction had been closed since June 2016 because of storm damage

The Gobbins Cliff Path in County Antrim has reopened after hundreds of thousands of pounds of repair work.

The path - which has closed twice because of storm damage, most recently in June 2016 - reopened to visitors on Friday.

The June 2016 closure was because of an "increase in levels of rock-fall".

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council confirmed in February that £430,000 of public funds had been spent repairing the path.

The money came from a £2m maintenance fund set aside for the path.

The Gobbins originally opened in 1902 and quickly became famous as a white-knuckle walk.

Post-war austerity spelt decline for the 1.5 mile walkway and it was closed to the public in the 1950s.

It then reopened two years ago after an investment of £7.5m.

Image caption,

The Gobbins path was first opened in 1902 and is in an area of special scientific interest

The Gobbins was the brainchild of Irish railway engineer Berkeley Deane Wise.

Carved into black basalt cliffs, it was deemed an engineering triumph, connected by a network of walkways and bridges - the most iconic of which was the tubular bridge.