Jacob's Ladder

The ladder begins almost at sea level at the lower edge of Jamestown and climbs the steep volcanic hillside in a single unbroken line of 699 steps, reaching an altitude of approximately 150 metres. It was constructed in 1829 as an inclined railway, originally using a chain-haul system to pull small carriages, though the railway mechanism fell into disuse and the tracks were eventually removed, leaving only the staircase itself. The construction was a response to the need to move troops efficiently between the town and the barracks at Lupper without the wear and tear of the steep existing paths.

In its working years the railway carried military personnel between the barracks at Lupper and the town below, and the daily ascent and descent of troops was a familiar spectacle for the inhabitants of Jamestown. The soldiers used it to reach the town for provisions and recreation, and the system avoided the steep and winding paths that would otherwise have been the only route between the upper barracks and the lower settlement. The railway operated until 1871, when the mechanism was finally abandoned and the tracks removed, leaving the staircase as it now exists.

Today the staircase is walked for pleasure and as a fitness challenge; completing all 699 steps without stopping is a point of pride for visitors and locals alike. The steps are of steel construction with a central railway track that serves as a handrail, and a narrower gauge track alongside that once guided the original carriages. Walking it early in the morning before the sun is high gives the best conditions, as the steps heat up quickly once the sun is on them and the metal becomes uncomfortable to hold.

The views from the upper reaches of the ladder are extensive: behind you the town of Jamestown spreads down the valley to the sea, and ahead the interior of the island reveals its rolling green hills, deep valleys, and the stark Atlantic horizon. At the top, a short path leads to the site of the old barracks, now largely overgrown but with some foundations and wall fragments visible among the vegetation. The barracks themselves were demolished in the twentieth century but the ruins of the officers' quarters and the parade ground can still be made out in the hillside vegetation.

The Jacob's Ladder Run, an annual athletics event, has become one of the island's signature occasions, with competitors racing up the full 699 steps. The event draws participants from the small local community and, increasingly, from further afield, and it has done more than perhaps any other single initiative to maintain the ladder's visibility and relevance in contemporary island life. The current record for the ascent is under five minutes, set by a visiting athlete, and times are announced each year in the island's small newsletter.

It is one of the longest continuous staircases in the world and the most distinctive vertical feature in any South Atlantic island settlement.

The structure tells a clear story of military logistics in the nineteenth-century British Empire and the engineering solutions developed to move troops efficiently across difficult terrain.

The views from the ascent are exceptional and repay the physical effort required.