Standedge Tunnel in the Pennine Hills

The Highest, Deepest and Longest Canal Tunnel in Britain

Nov 21, 2009 Jane Hodgson

The Standedge Tunnel at over 3 miles is the longest canal tunnel in Britain. Located in the Pennine Hills, it is also the deepest and highest canal tunnel in the country.

The Standedge Tunnel is the longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel in Britain. It runs under the Pennine Hills for a distance of 5, 029 meters to join the West Yorkshire village of Marsden to the Greater Manchester village of Diggle.

The History of Standedge Tunnel, the Longest, Highest and Deepest Canal Tunnel in Britain

Construction of the Standedge Tunnel commenced in 1794. It was initially estimated that the work would take 5 year, but in the end it was 16 years before the longest canal tunnel in Britain was to open.

In the 1700's Huddersfield was an important centre for the manufacture of woolen cloth. The cloth needed to be transported to the ports of Hull and Liverpool and consequently it was decided to build the 20 mil long Huddersfield Narrow Canal which linked the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire with Ashton - Under- Lyne in Greater Manchester. From Ashton the rest of the canal system could be accessed. The more direct line the new canal could take the quicker each journey would be increasing profit. The problem was to cut a way through the Pennine Hills. The construction of the Standedge Tunnel was a major engineering feat of its time.

Initially the line of the tunnel was marked out on the moor above and shafts were built. Tunnel was dug by miners using pickaxes and gunpowder.

Excavation began from both ends, and also from the bottom of the air shafts, the spoil was pulled up and dumped on the hillside where is can still be seen. The project was beset with problems, and eventually Thomas Telford was bought in to oversee it. He realised the two tunnels were not going to meet in the middle, hence the longest canal tunnel in Britain is not completely straight, but has several kinks in it!

The longest canal tunnel in Britain is also the highest at 196 meters above sea level, and the deepest 194 meters below the Pennine Hills

Much of the inside of the tunnel is brick lined, but there are places where it is simply hewn out of the rock

There are only three places in the tunnel where two boats can pass. There are reports of frequent fights between boat crews in the tunnel as no one wanted to have to leg back to the passing place loosing valuable effort and time

From 1894 a second tunnel was built with a railway tunnel running alongside the canal tunnel. There are several connecting tunnels as the spoil from the excavation of the railway tunnel was loaded onto canal boats to be taken away

At the time boats on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal were horsedrawn. There is no towpath through the tunnel so boats had to be legged through. This involved two men lying on their backs on the top of the narrowboat and using their legs to walk the boat through the tunnel. On average it took 4 hours to leg the boat through. The record time of 1 hour and 25 minutes was set in 1914 by David Whitehead. The horses were walked over the moor.

The last working boat went through the longest canal tunnel in Britain in 1921. The tunnel closed in 1944, and was reopened in 2001 following significant retoration work which included removing 10,000 tonnes of silt and 2,000 tonnes of fallen rock.

Visiting Standedge Tunnel, the Longest, Highest and Deepest Canal Tunnel in Britain

The Standedge Experience visitors centre in Marsden is open from Tuesdays to Sundays April to November. The visitors centre has much interesting information about the history of the longest canal tunnel in Britain. Short boat trips into the Standedge Tunnel are also offered

On the first Saturday of the month it is possible to take a one way trip all the way through the Standedge Tunnel, this take up to three hours. The boat departs from Marsden at 9am arriving at Diggle in time for lunch at the Diggle Hotel and a pleasant walk back over the tops to Marsden.

The Standedge experience visitors centre at the Marsden portal of the Standedge Tunnel has a small cafe and toilet facitities. The excellent Tunnel End Inn which has real ale, home made food and accommodation is only a hundred meters away.

Standedge Experience is the venue for the annual Marsden Imbolc Festival which takes place each February.

Boating on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Standedge Tunnel

Canal boat enthusiasts can take their own narrowboat through the deepest, highest and longest canal tunnel in Britain. It is necessary to contact British Waterways at Standedge at least two days in advance of the planned passage. Passages must be escorted by a member of staff from British Waterways and are available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between March and October

Nearest Boat Hire to Experience the Standedge Tunnel and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal

The nearest narrowboat hire is from Saddleworth Canal Cruises at Oldham. Shire Cruises in Sowerby Bridge is a little further away

The copyright of the article Standedge Tunnel in the Pennine Hills in U.K./Ireland Travel is owned by Jane Hodgson. Permission to republish Standedge Tunnel in the Pennine Hills in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Standedge Experience Visitors Centre