Standedge Tunnel. A Journey Under The Pennines

N.B. this post is unapologetically long because we had the most amazing experience, so settle in with a cuppa.

Standedge Tunnel.

At 5189m it is the longest canal tunnel in the world.

At 194m underground it is the deepest canal tunnel in the UK.

At 196m above sea level it is the highest canal tunnel in the UK.

Running from Diggle in Greater Manchester, under the Pennine Hills to Marsden in West Yorkshire it is rightly one of the seven wonders of the waterways and an IWA Silver Propeller Site to boot.

It took 17 years to build, opening in 1811. It was closed for 57 years but happily for us it was made safe and reopened in 2001. Restoration involved bolts nearly a metre long to secure the bare rock. Steel mesh was sprayed with concrete to stabilise the rock face where bolts weren't suitable.

Adjacent railway tunnels were opened in 1848 and 1871. A 3rd opened in 1894 and is the only one still used by trains.

All the tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adits, which aided in the initial construction. The oldest of the disused tunnels has been made accessible to fire engines and ambulances in case of emergency in either the canal or current rail tunnel. When a boat is in the tunnel a service vehicle drives through and personnel use these adits to visually check on the boat's progress, making sure there aren't any problems.

The tunnel is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from late March to early November. It is only wide enough for one boat so crews from Marsden leave in the morning and crews from Diggle in the afternoon.
Owners must book in advance and be accompanied by a chaperone who can take over steering if necessary. Fibre glass and petrol fuelled craft are not permitted.

Before vessels enter they must have their air and water drafts measured to ensure they can pass through the restrictive internal dimensions. We'd commissioned Rainboat to have a taller ceiling than most narrowboats so she wouldn't feel claustrophobic to us and so that 6'6" brother Al could stand up inside without hitting his head. Having made such an effort to reach this point we were nervous of falling at the final hurdle. The way we store our belongings makes Rainboat stern heavy with a slight tilt to port. To bring her bow and starboard down Will made a massive effort moving the heavy compost bins into the bow locker, the heaviest planters on top of it and the rest in the bathroom near the front of the boat. The 15kg dog food transferred from the back step to the bath and the generator joined Vicky in the bedroom. The gangplank came off its stays, the fenders were stowed away, the water tank under the bed was filled and the remaining loose items from the roof and deck went in the canoe. We'd done all we could and just needed to wait for the verdict now.

Moving to the mooring bollards near the portal, we were both a little anxious. Vicky's brother Al was travelling over to visit for a few days and his arrival made us both happy as well as helping distract us from the test ahead. All three furries were overjoyed to see him and lots of strokes and cuddles ensued.

We'd had a couple of phonecalls to check we were ready to go through and to give us an ETA for the boat from Marsden emerging. There were supposed to be three boats travelling from Marsden and two from Diggle but people had obviously changed their minds because in the end it was only ourselves and one boat from Marsden. Al didn't even have time to finish his coffee before the CRT and this boat arrived. The volunteers got their special measuring sticks out while Will looked on with baited breath. Living up to her name, Rainboat passed with flying colours 🌈 coming in at 5'9" air draft and 1'9" below the waterline, well under the 6'2" limit.

Things seemed to proceed quite quickly after that. Hi vis vests and hard hats were shared out, powerful battery operated work lights placed on Rainboat's bow and a metal plate supporting a pair of blue tubes was plonked on her roof. This turned out to be part of the TunnelMESH underground wireless communication system whose installation cost just less than £1million. It allows a boat's position to be monitored and for the chaperones to communicate with people outside the tunnel.

Al had volunteered to drive Tiger to Marsden portal and meet us there, swapping 2 hours in the tunnel for 15 minutes in the car. He whisked our very reluctant curly furry away while Vicky settled Leo with her in the bedroom.
Will tried to sort the canoe and start the engine with not one but two chaperones on the stern. Then, we were off!

We've cruised through lots of tunnels in the 3 years we've been travelling on Rainboat but Standege soon distinguished itself. The forms we saw were so varied, from brick ribs to solid arches, some neatly repointed, some crumbling, reinforced steel beams, flat, prefabricated concrete ceilings, wooden beams, steel bars, rough flows of concrete over steel mesh to the most amazing roughly hewn hunks of angular gritstone.

Our chaperone's voice was echoing off the walls as he chatted away, sometimes giving advice, sometimes sharing knowledge of the features and history but rarely facing Will when he spoke. This made it very difficult to understand what he was saying over the noise of the engine in the tight little cave-like surrounds. Part of his advice was to look at the ceiling ahead as a guide. Easier said than done when he insisted on standing in front of Will, blocking his view!

At points water dripped, spouted and poured from cavities in the rock and we could hear the rumble and roar of trains as their tunnel crossed over ours.
We cruised under and past metal pedestrian bridges and adits leading off to the side. At a few places there were green lit emergency exit signs and it was here that someone checked in with us in person. TunnelMESH cylinders were affixed to bars spanning the roof and our unit beeped, intermittently communicating with them while our chaperone radioed verbal confirmation.

Sustained periods of intense concentration are not Will's forté but he did bloomin well keeping us steady. The depth varied, causing Rainboat to slow in the shallow sections, her engine straining to shift the water under her hull against the high friction of the bed. The chaperone advised Will to 'slide' along the walls at times to navigate round the wonky bits. Will was not keen on this and we got away with a few bumps, scrapes and only one shuddering bang to the superstructure from an unknown obstacle part way up the wall. The chaperone had accompanied a boat whose superstructure had collided head on with the wall, stopping the boat dead in the water, throwing its crew forward. This made us feel better about our comparatively minor side swipes.

Eventually we saw the actual light at the end of the tunnel. It was a relief as Will's arm was aching with the strain of microsteering the heavy tiller to keep Rainboat on such a tight course. 1hour 43 minutes after we entered the subterranean world in Diggle, we emerged at Marsden to see Al sitting with Tiger at a picnic bench outside the Watersedge Café. He had been getting live updates on our progress from the CRT and Tiger had used her super doggy hearing to lock in to the sound of the engine and Will's voice. They were both expecting us and Tiger had completely forgotten about the ice cream she was half way through eating!

We're so grateful to Al for looking after her as she would not have coped well with the experience. Leo on the other hand was an angel, keeping close to Vicky and accepting reassurance (and treats) for any unexpected noises. Whiskers was more annoyed at having been locked in overnight than worried about the unusual journey with the lights on inside. As for us? It was an experience of a lifetime. Utterly enjoyable and fascinating for both of us. Challenging and tiring, mentally and physically for Will. We are so glad we got to do it!

For those with an interest, you can see pictures of the tunnel restoration on the Pennine Waterways website here: https://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/huddersfield…Read more