Huddersfield Narrow Canal

The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is a fascinating and historic waterway stretching 20 miles from Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester to Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. It is an engineering marvel that cuts through the Pennines, with stunning scenery and a dramatic, rugged landscape. Opened in 1811, the canal was initially constructed to link industrial towns and provide a crucial transport route for the booming wool and textile industries of the region. However, the canal faced a period of decline with the rise of railways, leading to its closure in the 1940s. Thanks to extensive restoration efforts, it was reopened in 2001, becoming an important route for leisure boaters and walkers alike.

One of the most remarkable features of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal is its sheer number of locks—74 in total, making it one of the most lock-intensive canals in the UK. These locks help the canal navigate the steep gradients of the Pennine hills, with some short flights of locks making for an intense but rewarding journey.

The canal also includes Standedge Tunnel, one of its most iconic and awe-inspiring features. At 3.25 miles long, Standedge Tunnel is the longest, deepest, and highest canal tunnel in Britain. The tunnel runs beneath the Pennines and offers boaters a surreal underground experience, where they traverse between Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. Standedge was a significant achievement of early 19th-century engineering, and navigating through it is considered a highlight for canal enthusiasts.

The canal connects with the Ashton Canal at the western end in Ashton-under-Lyne, providing a route into Manchester, and links to the Huddersfield Broad Canal at the eastern end in Huddersfield, which then connects to the River Calder and the broader canal network, including the Calder and Hebble Navigation.

In addition to the locks and Standedge Tunnel, the canal passes through several charming towns and villages, such as Uppermill and Marsden, each offering historic mill buildings, scenic views, and waterside pubs. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal offers a unique journey through industrial history, Pennine landscapes, and remarkable canal engineering.

Wikipedia Page

Canal Specification

Max Boat Length70 ft
Max Boat Width7 ft
Number of Locks74
Length20 miles (32 km)

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River/Canal Route Planning

If you are looking for a canal/river route planner, we recommend Canal Plan, we use it to plan our routes, and then once we have a plan our maps are useful to find what else there is on the way

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