Bennerley Viaduct reopens to public after five decades and £1.7m repairs

Bennerley Viaduct, a Victorian railway bridge which runs between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, has been in disrepair since 1968, and was the only UK structure on the 2020 World Monuments Watch list.

The bridge is back open to the public after more than five decades of dereliction. The "Iron Giant" - one of only two such structures in England - began welcoming visitors on Thursday. Repair works cost £1.7m, with £560,000 coming from the Railway Heritage Trust. An official opening ceremony is set to take place later in the year.

The viaduct was built between May 1876 and November 1877 and formed part of the Great Northern Railway Derbyshire Extension. Opened in 1877, the Bennerley Viaduct spans 1,410ft (430m) and was closed as part of the Beeching railway cuts in 1968.

Despite several attempts by British Rail to have it demolished, conservation group Railway Paths took on ownership of the site, which has attracted visitors from all over the world to the Erewash Valley.

Schemes to repair it have been under way in various forms since 1986, and with the help of the Friends of Bennerley Viaduct group, the viaduct will now be able to be used by walkers and cyclists.

Andy Savage, executive director of the Railway Heritage Trust, said: "It's absolutely brilliant. I've been in this job for 12 years, I'm about to retire so it's very much the crowning glory.

"We've been trying to find a use for Bennerley Viaduct since we started in 1985 and it has proved immensely difficult.

"Eventually Railway Paths Ltd and the local community have done that and we are delighted that we have been able to put, in the end, just over £500,000 into the project."