'Bucket list opportunity' as canoe trips through longest canal tunnel launched

Canoe trips through the UK's longest canal tunnel underneath the Pennines have been launched by the Canal & River Trust.

These trips, launched by the charity, will be a new "bucket list opportunity" which will see guided tours by canoe for the very first time through Standedge Tunnel. This tunnel runs for three and a half miles underneath the Pennines between Marsden and Diggle, in Greater Manchester.

The canal was dug by hand and took 17 years to complete in 1811. It is described as one of the seven wonders of Britain's waterways and, as well as being the longest tunnel, it is also the highest and deepest canal tunnel in the UK.

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Now, the Canal & River Trust is hoping the money earned from these tours will help fund their work to maintain Britain's waterways. Gordon McMinn, from the Trust, will lead trips through the tunnel.

A volunteer team leader and qualified paddle sports instructor, Mr McMinn said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list opportunity for keen canoeists to paddle though this magnificent tunnel and explore its three and a half miles.

"It will give participants a real sense of this remarkable tunnel, one of the seven wonders of the waterways, which is steeped in history. The trips just emphasise that life’s better by – or in this case on – water."

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There will be a total of 18 paddle trips spread over nine days in June, July and August. Each trip will take approximately two hours and will be one-way only, from either Marsden to Diggle of vice versa.

Any participants will make use of the Canal & River Trusts' open canoes. It will cost £100 for two people in a tandem canoe or £55 for a solo trip and the limited places can be booked online here.

Sean McGinley, regional director for Yorkshire and the North East at Canal & River Trust, said: "We’re excited to launch a new chapter in the history of Standedge Tunnel, a real wonder of the waterways."

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."