Standedge

Today's the day .......................... to break records

We knew that the passage through Standedge Tunnel was likely to be the high point (literally and metaphorically) of our week - and we weren't disappointed.

It's the highest (647 ft above sea level), longest (just over 3 miles) and deepest (638 ft of rock above it) canal tunnel in Britain - and one of the longest operational canal tunnels in the world. Construction started in 1794 and went on for almost 17 years before it was completed. The total building cost was £123,804 which is equivalent to about £6M today.

After more than two hours of making our way through it, we were pretty glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel ......................