Aberystwyth Cliff Railway

The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway is a 237-m long passenger funicular, the second longest in the British Isles. It opened in 1896 as part of a Victorian leisure venture developed on Constitution Hill, at the edge of the town, by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company. It is now run by a charitable trust. The railway takes visitors to the top of the hill. The undulating track and stepped carriages were designed by George Croydon Marks. It was originally a water-balance system, which used the weight of water in tanks below the cars for motive power, but since 1921 the counterbalanced cars have been powered by an electric motor. At the top there are spectacular views of the town and the coastline of Cardigan Bay, a camera obscura (a re-creation in 1985 of the original built a century earlier), a shop and café. At the bottom is an attractive station building, close to the Victorian waterfront promenade.