The famous Standedge Tunnel is located in West Yorkshire and is known as the longest, deepest and highest tunnel in the UK. One the the country’s most unique experience is opening up the tunnel to canoeists for the first time in its 200-year history.
Dubbed one of the seven wonders of the waterways, the tunnels run for 3.5 miles under the Pennines between Marsden in West Yorkshire and Diggle in Lancashire and took 17 years to dig by hand. Run by the Canal & River Trust charity, guide canoe trips take you into the deepest, darkest parts of tunnels throughout the summer.
Volunteer Gordon McMinn, from the trust, called the trips “a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list opportunity for keen canoeists”, saying the trips would give participants “a real sense of this remarkable tunnel”.
Sean McGinley, the trust’s regional director for Yorkshire & North East, said that the new canoe tours were because the charity was “working harder than ever to keep our historic 250-year-old canal network alive”.
He continued: “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.”
Act fast as a total of 18 one-way paddle trips are up for offer between June and August for either two people in a tandem canoe or solo paddlers, with a fee charged.
The Standedge Tunnel have been reopened for over 20 years since the rebirth of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal after standing derelict for 50 years. It sits 645 feet above sea level, and goes 638 feet underground. The last commercial trip through the tunnels was 100 years ago in 1921.
Head over to the website here to find out more.
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