History of Standedge Tunnel

Standedge Tunnel, (or Stanedge) was completed in 1811, thirteen years after the rest of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal had been opened for business. The tunnel links Diggle and Marsden. It is the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel in Britain, being over 3 miles long, 638 feet underground and 645 feet above sea level.

The canal was sold to the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway Company in 1845. As railway traffic increased the carrying of cargo by boat declined.

The last recorded cargo boat passed through Standedge Tunnel in November 1921 and the canal was closed to navigation by an Act of Parliament in 1944. When it was built, the canal needed 74 locks over its 23 miles. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was often dubbed "the impossible restoration", nevertheless it has been fully restored and was re-opened for navigation in May 2001.

Now that the Rochdale Canal restoration is complete (July 2002) the Huddersfield Narrow Canal will be part of a newly formed waterway "The South Pennine Ring." The Ring will consist of 68 miles of navigation, 186 locks, 20 aqueducts and 8 tunnels. Not a canal for those looking for a leisurely cruise!

We cruised the Ashton to Diggle section of the recently re-opened Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 2001. Click here for cruising notes of this unique canal and its variable, often wonderful, scenery.