Standedge Tunnel Day

Today is the day! We were ready for the tunnel briefing on time but the BW staff were in no great hurry and, despite the official bookings, we were to leave first as soon as the 'shadow' van was in place in the old rail tunnel.

Our pilot, Fred, briefed us and dressed Mike, as steerer, in safety gear - the hard hat definitely came in handy at several places in the tunnel.

8:54 and we were off. The pilot was extremely helpful - as well as giving a continuous commentary - making sure that, as far as possible, we avoided the worst of the rocks protruding into the path of boats. Every so often he checked with his shadow colleague in the other tunnel as there are numerous inter-connections.

At times the tunnel takes an s-bend and we had to slow down but otherwise progress was steady. At the final cross adit we had to stop for a short time to allow the pilot to report back to tunnel control - the shadow had by now turned back to follow the other boat which was passing through today, behind us.

The last part of the tunnel is a flat-roofed extension built when the last railway tunnel was built and allows both tracks to pass over the canal tunnel entrance.

Inevitably we had a few contacts and some resulting scratches - we would have been a bit more concerned if it were not for the fact that Take Five is booked in for a re-paint next month.

About an hour and forty minutes we emerged at the other end, again close to the railway line - we had heard a number of passing trains when we were in the tunnel and also felt them as they cause a pressure wave which is felt as a rise in the 'wind'.

After a time to recover from the experience we bade farewell to our pilot - we felt that we deserved our certificates! - and set off once more, now heading downwards.

The lock mechanisms this side are quite different in design - almost as if a totally different company!

There was plenty of water coming down the canal, although some sections are shallow. We dropped down the first flight of 8 locks to the Wool Road Transhipment Warehouse where we moored to use the sani station as well as have lunch.

The afternoon was very pleasant - the weather was warm and occasionally sunny spells, just right for a well-locked canal. The locks proved generally easy to operate and it was somewhat of a surprise to realise that we had come down 21 locks by the time we moored just below the short Scout Tunnel.

There were many former mill buildings - some have found limited additional uses - one with the sign: "Artist Studio" in a top floor window that looks out over the moors no doubt offers some quirky inspiration. Even the new build housing looks like the old mill architecture.

8.6 Miles - 21 Locks