Canoeists can now explore the UK’s longest, deepest, and highest canal tunnel, Standedge Tunnel, which has opened to the public for the first time in its 200-year history. Running for 3.5 miles (5.6km) beneath the Pennines between Marsden in West Yorkshire and Diggle in Lancashire, the tunnel was dubbed one of the seven wonders of the waterways. Taking 17 years to dig by hand, the Canal & River Trust charity is offering guided canoe trips through the tunnel throughout the summer.
The tours comprise 18 one-way paddle trips and are available between June and August for either two people in a tandem canoe, or solo paddlers, with a fee. The trust said that canoeists would get an astounding sense of the remarkable tunnel. Volunteer Gordon McMinn from the trust said the trips were “a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list opportunity” for keen canoeists.
Standedge tunnel opened in 1811, and the Canal & River Trust spokesperson described it as an “extraordinary feat of engineering.” With the tours introduced to keep the charity’s historic 250-year-old canal network continuously operational, the experience is one of the many ways people can support their work by contributing to the vital funds needed to maintain the 2,000-mile network of canals and assets, while discovering the treasure under the Pennines.
Sean McGinley, the charity’s regional director for Yorkshire & North East, said they were working harder than ever to keep their canal network operational and alive. He added, “This experience is one of the many ways people can help support our work, contributing to the vital funds needed to help us maintain our 2,000-mile network of canals and assets, while discovering this amazing treasure under the Pennines.”
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