Bow Top Fencing

Bow top fencing is a traditional iron fence design that takes its name from its distinctive rounded top.

It is also a popular way to turn a standard perimeter fence into a much more attractive feature. Designed with safety in mind this makes this type of fence ideal for use on children’s play areas, in schools and play grounds.
Along with the standard bow top railing design Alpharail offers 5 additional bow top railing designs for customers to choose from, developed to meet client requirements and taking practicality, design and cost into consideration there is a bow top design available to suit all budgets.

Interlaced Bow Top Railing
This alternative to the standard design features a more decorative, interlocking design that provides a secure boundary while remaining pleasing on the eye.

Bow Top BT302
Popular for use in parks, housing estates and along garden perimeters this style of rail fence sees the addition of a vertical bar within the standard design, reducing the width between the rails.

Bow Top BT303
This design offers further alternatives to the traditional bow top design, again there is the addition of another vertical bar but this time the bar passes through the top rail into the bow itself. This variation is particularly popular when design is important to the overall finish.


Bow Top BT304
Taking the design element of the bow top fence even further the BT304 features hollow posts that are completed with finials to add a more decorative finish. Popular in housing developments and parks simply for their stunning features, this particular design is also customisable with the use of contrasting colours.

Bow Top BT305
Designed to meet the more decorative demands of customers this design incorporates a more elegant look, the smaller bow inlayed within the standard, with the high performance requirements and security benefits this type of railing provides.

Pedestrian Guardrail – Keeping Pedestrians Safe.

Normally used along higher speed road, pedestrian guard rail is designed to keep pedestrians safe. While traditional guardrail keeps pedestrians off the road except at designated crossing points, it can often be difficult to see through and obscures small children and pets that can’t be seen through the bars. There is a solution where you can use guardrail and can see through it.

Optirail only available at Alpharail offers railings that are staggered, so while the pedestrian guardrail protects the pedestrian from the cars, the cars can see the pedestrian whatever their size. As visibility will change depending on the speed and curvature of the road, there are different spacing and setting of the panels for different speed roads. The different panels also take into account the minimum stopping distance from the end of the rail and the angle that the driver will be looking through the rail. Using optirail can improve visibility by a factor of three giving pedestrians and drivers more chance of being seen, to see and to take evasive action.

Pedestrian Guardrails also have their used on lower speed roads in town and city centres, here appearance is often more important as the railings can smarten up the appearance of pedestrian areas. Decorative posts, rings and finials that tie in with other street furniture such as bins and bollards can help to give town centres an identity that the pedestrian guardrails on the higher speed roads lack. In addition to their primary function of keeping the pedestrians safe from traffic. Optirail also has a decorative guard railings option so you can have the same safety features as the optirail in a decorative railing.

Whatever the speed of the road, it is worth getting a quote from alpharail for your pedestrian guardrail to make sure the roads are as safe as possible.

Improve the Look of your Property with Juliette Balconies

Juliette Balconies have the famous namesake of Juliet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, traditional stagings of the play have Juliet sat at her balcony with Romeo below. However the play itself makes no written description of a balcony only a window. They are not balconies in the traditional sense in that you cannot stand on them but provide protection from falls from door openings on the first and second floors.

So why would you have a Juliet Balcony instead of a window? A window has limitations on size, but with a Juliet Balcony you can have a full size door in place of a window that lets in more light and can be fully opened and stood at in summer to provide views over the surrounding landscape.


Juliet Balconies come in a range of designs; Alpharail has 8 different designs of Juliet balconies including The Portland, The Byron, The Rufford, The Bow Fronted Ruffold, The Chatsworth, The Washington, The Cleveland and The Stafford. The range incorporates modern and traditional styles in a range of finishes. The Portland and The Byron offer a plain Juliet Balcony. Whereas the Bow fronted Rufford like its name describes has a bow front that really makes it distinctive. The Cleveland is a more modern balcony with wavy lines to appeal to a sense of fun.

If you don’t see a Juliet Balcony you like we do offer a bespoke bespoke architectural metalwork service and can help you to design your own balcony to fit your own needs and design.

Why not visit Alpharail and take a look at our range of Juliet Balconies, to add character and style to your building project.

Estate Railings

Estate Railings have a classic style often associated with country parks and rural estates. The traditional fence has an ancient look but offers a modern and hardy fence. The modern fence is now stronger and more resilient than the older style of estate fencing.

Estate fencing is useful for marking boundaries on a large estate and also keeping livestock from gardens and within the grazing areas. Sometimes estate fencing can be called deer or park fencing as it was traditionally used to keep deer within estates.
Deer or estate fencing is a great alternative to wire fencing and wooden posts. Wire fencing is temporary and susceptible to damage and weathering. Whereas estate railings are more durable and will last a lot longer, look more classic and have the options of including gates to provide a more traditional finish.

Estate Railings are delivered in a galvanized finish but also have the option of being powder coated. Usually estate railings are a traditional black colour but having a powder coating, gives you a choice of different colour finishes. You may for example want a green finish if the railing borders a woodland, that will pull the fence into the environment and it will not stand out as much. However the black railings on an estate rail do tend to be a feature themselves. It is useful to have the option for different colours if they are needed.

If you order estate rail from Alpharail, you can choose to have a supply and delivery or supply and fix service and you can choose from a range of heights. This allows you to fit your own railing or take advantage of the installation service.

Keep People off the Grass with Trip Rails

We’ve all seen signs on well-kept lawns and parks outside buildings with the message “Keep off the Grass” as tempting as the grass looks to sit on or cut across a sign is asking people to respect the grass and the sign, while there is no physical deterrent it is almost a challenge to the person walking by.

Signs like “keep off the grass” are easier to enforce with the use of trip rails. Trip rails are rails that tend to be about the height of an adults knee or lower and can line either a grassed area or a planted area to help to deter people from walking on the grass or trampling a planted area. Trip rails by their nature are not a feature like a full fence and gate but such rather a rail that prevents someone from easily passing it but in itself is not really noticed. It also means passers-by can enjoy the park or area without a physical barrier to it.

Trip rails tend to have a simple design, fabricated from either circular or rectangular hollow sections, linked together through regular posts, they can be rendered in a number of colours and finials can be added to improve the look of them. The majority of them are steel trip rails as this material is suitable to withstand weathering and easily rendered in which ever covering is needed

Trip rails from Alpharail are a good idea because the rail can be designed to the area you want to use it; this means if the area you want to protect is an awkward shape or is really long, Alpharail can create a rail that is suitable for this purpose.

Finish off your Fence with Finials and Finishes

When creating a fence design, something that is often overlooked is the finial, the name given to the rail and post heads. Adding something extra to the top of the fence has the dual aspect of adding increased security to a boundary railing and adding an extra design edge to the rail.

Railing Finials vary from a single point often a similar shape to an arrowhead but they can also be rounded and have more than one point coming off them. Railing Finials can have posts finials that echo the design of the rail finials or can be something a bit different.

If you have a look at some of our more recent projects like Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, the finials there are more unusual and denote a megaphone to reflect the history of Speakers' corner. In other projects like in the Thompson Veterinary practice the finials tied the handrail to the railing by the use of a different colour; this use of colour makes the finial stand out.

In many of our projects you can see the traditional arrow shaped finial but if you haven't seen a finial you want to use Alpharail can commission a finial of your own design to give the railing a look that is unique. You could consider a bespoke finial, if you have a unique design you can use that is linked to your business, school or park like the Hyde Park megaphone.

Aside from finials, the other possible consideration for finishing your fence is the finish. All Alphrail's are hot dip galvanized using a zinc coating this helps to provide extra protection for the rails from rust.

Alpharail rails tend to be powder coated at the factory to provide a durable weather-proof finish to further protect your rail from corrosion and give an even finish. Like paint, powder coating can be in a range of colours so does not necessarily have to limit your choice alternatively the rail can be painted.

Pedestrian Guardrails for Public Safety and Security

Pedestrian guardrails help make public roads, bridges and buildings safer for pedestrians, passengers and commuters. Here at Alpharail it has been our business to ensure the safety of the public for the past 25 years. We have been providing high quality and effective pedestrian guardrails to local authorities and private contractors all over the United Kingdom.

When it comes to choosing the type of pedestrian guardrail to build and install, Alpharail can make some intelligent suggestions. It will be dependent on a few factors which will affect the size, style and material used for the rail. These include the location where the guardrail will be installed, the traffic volume in the area, and the presence of other structures such as trees and buildings.

Budget may also be a deciding factor when choosing suitable pedestrian guardrail. For those with limited funds, basic and affordable unit panel designs from Alpharail are now avalible. These have variations based on height and the distance between infill bars. On height, M1 and M2 versions are offers with M1 offering a full height and M2 with a slight gap from the bars to the base. The size of the infill bars also vary. Infill bars make guardrails more visible to drivers in public roads. The Optirail system are most visible among pedestrian guardrails and apply effective size variations with infill bars.

The unit panels measure about 1m or 2m in length. Special sizes can also be ordered such as panels with rakes and radiuses. These can be either finished with compliance to standards set by BS EN ISO 1461 : 1999 or BS 6497. The former refers to finishing fabricated iron or steel with hot dip galvanized coatings. The latter on the other hand is another option wherewith powder organic coating such as polyester is used instead.

Alpharail also offer decorative panels to add an aesthetic value to the pedestrian guardrails. Various designs are available to choose. All railings made are compliant with BD 7818 : 1995. This contains specifications for pedestrian restraint systems such as guardrails made of metal. This guideline is imposed upon all manufacturers and installers of related products and services. Alpharail pedestrian guardrails remain reliable, safe and of high quality by complying with the standards set by this specification.