In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway found itself mired in controversy, after denying access to anyone not wearing a face covering, despite government guidance permitting a number of exemptions on medical grounds. This resulted in considerable negative publicity, with the point raised that the attraction was denying access to people with disabilities or medical conditions, which could be seen as a breach of equality legislation. The attraction claimed that people were falsely using exemption cards, but failed to provide any basis for how they knew this to be the case.