Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Saddleworth Museum and art gallery in a former cotton mill with a power loom and clothi-
er's cottage.
The canal passes under Saddleworth Viaduct at Uppermill
.
So far, the locks have been surprisingly well spaced. From Dobcross to Diggle they come
as a flight, climbing up on to more exposed moorland above the treeline. From the top lock
the water level is 196m, the highest connected canal level in Britain. As the canal approaches
Diggle, set in a basin of hills, the railway closes alongside and suddenly the tunnel mouth ap-
pears ahead - an archway that seems to be set too far forward from the hillside - an entrance
to one of the wonders of the canal world. The original tunnel mouth had to be moved north
in 1849 to accommodate the railway alongside. Until entry is permitted, the tunnel mouth is
closed with a gate showing a life-sized narrowboat bow with a legger on each side. This is
Standedge tunnel. At 4.95km, later extended by 250m, this is the longest and highest canal
tunnel in the UK, burrowing under the Pennines at depths to 194m. Opened in 1811, it took
17 years to build. The 2011 record for legging through is under two hours.
Information boards have been erected beside the canal near Marsden. More entertaining
than informative is the revival in the 1990s of the Celtic Imbolc cross-quarter festival, in early
February, with fireworks, drummers, live music, theatre and a torch-lit procession near the
canal.
