The view from… Suicide Bridge

Looking out over tired old London

Thomas Telford's construction of Archway Road was originally intended to pass through Highgate Hill as a tunnel. However, the tunnel collapsed, leaving an inadvertent cutting through the hill. In 1813, John 'Nutter' Nash built a bridge, known as the Archway, to carry the ancient Hornsey Lane over the cutting. Between 1897 and 1900, Nash's bridge was replaced with the present cast-iron structure, officially called the "Hornsey Lane Bridge" but universally known as "Suicide Bridge". Suicide Bridge is, as the name would suggest, one of the world's most significant locations for suicides, and is the only significant suicide bridge to pass over land rather than water, which makes for a very messy landing. A sign on the Hornsey side suggests that if you are contemplating topping yourself you should; 'Take the Eastbourne train from Victoria and if you haven't already flung yourself out of the moving train in despair at passing through the living hell that is Three Bridges then you should alight at Eastbourne and take a cab to Beachy Head'.

Accessible from the Archway Road level by a steep flight of steps, Suicide Bridge, as one of the highest points in London, offers impressive views over London and is a popular spot for photographers.

Suicide Bridge marks the boundary between Islington and Haringey, and consequently the official boundary between Inner London and Outer London. Although technically the boundary runs down the centre of the bridge, in practice the bridge is treated as part of Haringey and the land beneath it as part of Islington. For historic reasons, the bridge itself is owned and maintained by the Corporation of London.