List of canal tunnels in the United Kingdom

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Last updated October 25, 2023

This is a list of canal tunnels in the United Kingdom .

Listed by name

Tunnel	Canal	Length	Designer	Coordinates	Notes	Image
Ashford Tunnel	Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal	375 yards (343 m)^[1]	Thomas Dadford	51°53.195′N3°16.525′W / 51.886583°N 3.275417°W / 51.886583; -3.275417 (Ashford)	Brecknockshire/Powys Tunnel narrows considerably between northern and southern portals due to repairs to its fabric but is nevertheless navigable by a narrowboat with relative ease.	Ashford Tunnel, northern portal
Ashperton Tunnel	Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal	400 yards (370 m)
Aylstone Tunnel	Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal	440 yards (400 m)
Berwick Tunnel	Shrewsbury Canal	970 yards (890 m)	Josiah Clowes	52°42′4.97″N2°41′22.22″W / 52.7013806°N 2.6895056°W / 52.7013806; -2.6895056 (Berwick)	Claimed to be the first canal tunnel with a towpath throughout.	Berwick Tunnel, northern portal
Blisworth Tunnel	Grand Union Canal	3,056 yards (2,794 m)^[2]			Northamptonshire	Blisworth Tunnel, southern portal
Branwood Tunnel	Stratford-upon-Avon Canal	352 yards (322 m)^[3]				Brandwood Tunnel, eastern portal
Braunston Tunnel	Grand Union Canal	2,042 yards (1,867 m)^[2]	Jessop & Barnes	52°16.976′N1°10.041′W / 52.282933°N 1.167350°W / 52.282933; -1.167350 (Braunston)	Northamptonshire	Narrowboat leaving Braunston Tunnel
Bruce Tunnel	Kennet and Avon Canal	502 yards (459 m)^[4]				Bruce Tunnel's Eastern Portal (in 1992)
Butterley Tunnel	Cromford Canal	3,063 yards (2,801 m)^[5]		53°3.3841′N1°22.3994′W / 53.0564017°N 1.3733233°W / 53.0564017; -1.3733233 (Butterley)	Derbyshire	The Butterley Reservoir Adit where it enters the Butterley Tunnel, in 2006
Chirk Tunnel	Llangollen Canal	459 yards (420 m)^[6]		52°55′46.91″N3°3′46.77″W / 52.9296972°N 3.0629917°W / 52.9296972; -3.0629917 (Chirk)	Near Chirk	View taken from the Chirk Aqueduct
Cookley Tunnel	Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal	65 yards (59 m)^[7]				Cookly Tunnel, western portal
Drakeholes Tunnel	Chesterfield Canal	154 yards (141 m)^[8]
Dudley Tunnel	Birmingham Canal Navigations	3,172 yards (2,900 m)^[9]		52°31′18″N2°04′42″W / 52.52173°N 2.07840°W / 52.52173; -2.07840 (Dudley)	Part of Dudley Canal Line No 1	The southern portal of the Dudley Tunnel
Dunsley Tunnel	Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal	25 yards (23 m)^[10]		52°27′25″N2°12′34″W / 52.4568191°N 2.2093904°W / 52.4568191; -2.2093904 (Dunsley)		Dunsley Tunnel, west portal, near Kinver
Edgbaston Tunnel	Worcester and Birmingham Canal	105 yards (96 m)
Foulridge Tunnel	Leeds and Liverpool Canal	1,630 yards (1,490 m)^[11]	Robert Whitworth/Samuel Fletcher	53°52′28″N2°10′56″W / 53.8745°N 2.1821°W / 53.8745; -2.1821 (Foulridge)	Also known as the Mile Tunnel^[12]	Southern portal, Foulridge Tunnel
Gosty Hill Tunnel	Birmingham Canal Navigations	557 yards (509 m)^[13]			Part of Dudley Canal Line No 2	Gosty Hill Tunnel, northern portal
Greywell Tunnel	Basingstoke Canal	1,200 yards (1,100 m)^[14]			Closed to traffic following cave-in. Now home to Europe's largest bat colony.	The eastern portal of Greywell Tunnel on the Basingstoke Canal
Hardham Tunnel	Arun Navigation	375 yards (343 m)		50°56′56″N0°31′23″W / 50.94889°N 0.52306°W / 50.94889; -0.52306 (Hardham)	Closed since 1888; blocked in 1895 by LBSCR under Mid Sussex Line and Midhurst-Pulborough Line.	Southern Portal, Hardham Tunnel.
Harecastle Tunnel	Trent & Mersey Canal	2,926 yards (2,676 m)^[15]	James Brindley/Thomas Telford	53°4′27″N2°14′11″W / 53.07417°N 2.23639°W / 53.07417; -2.23639 (Harecastle)	Staffordshire. Comprises parallel "Brindley" and "Telford" tunnels. (The length stated is for the Telford tunnel.)	Northern end of Harecastle Tunnel. Telford's tunnel on the left, Brindley's the right.
Hincaster Tunnel	Lancaster Canal	378 yards (346 m)	Thomas Fletcher	54°15′33″N2°45′18″W / 54.25917°N 2.75500°W / 54.25917; -2.75500 (Hincaster)	Opened in 1819. Commercial traffic on the Lancaster Canal ceased north of Lancaster in 1944 and this part of the canal was officially closed following the Transport Act, 1955.
Lapal Tunnel	Birmingham Canal Navigations	3,795 yards (3,470 m)^[16]		52°26′42″N2°00′06″W / 52.4450°N 2.0017°W / 52.4450; -2.0017 (Lapal)	Part of Dudley Canal Line No 2 (disused—closed 1907)	1955 Ordnance Survey map of the east portal of Lapal Tunnel
Lord Ward's Tunnel	Birmingham Canal Navigations	196 yards (179 m)^[17]			In the Dudley Tunnel complex
Netherton Tunnel	Birmingham Canal Navigations	3,027 yards (2,768 m)^[9]		52°30′25″N2°03′25″W / 52.50697°N 2.05708°W / 52.50697; -2.05708 (Netherton)		The dual towpaths inside the northern portal of Netherton Tunnel
Newbold Tunnel	Oxford Canal	250 yards (230 m)^[18]				Illuminated Newbold Tunnel
Newnham Tunnel	Leominster Canal	100 yards (91 m)		52°19′37″N2°31′20″W / 52.32685°N 2.52223°W / 52.32685; -2.52223 (Newnham)	Worcestershire
Norwood Tunnel	Chesterfield Canal	2,884 yards (2,637 m)^[19]	James Brindley	53°20′06″N1°16′11″W / 53.33501°N 1.26971°W / 53.33501; -1.26971 (Norwood)	Derbyshire to South Yorkshire. Closed with plans for partial restoration of eastern end.	Norwood Tunnel western portal
Oxenhall Tunnel	Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal	2,192 yards (2,004 m)
Pensax Tunnel	Leominster Canal	3,850 yards (3,520 m)		52°19′22″N2°23′27″W / 52.32265°N 2.39083°W / 52.32265; -2.39083 (Pensax)	Worcestershire Abandoned during construction.
Putnall Tunnel	Leominster Canal	330 yards (300 m)		52°17′38″N2°43′58″W / 52.29398°N 2.73266°W / 52.29398; -2.73266 (Putnall)	Herefordshire
Sapperton Canal Tunnel	Thames and Severn Canal	3,817 yards (3,490 m)^[20]	Josiah Clowes	51°42′45″N2°03′42″W / 51.7126°N 2.0618°W / 51.7126; -2.0618 (Sapperton)	Gloucestershire	The Coates Portal at the south-eastern end of the Sapperton Canal Tunnel.
Scout Tunnel	Huddersfield Narrow Canal	220 yards (200 m)^[21]			Unlined, rock tunnel	Scout Tunnel
Shortwood Tunnel	Worcester and Birmingham Canal	613 yards (561 m)
Southnett Tunnel	Leominster Canal	1,250 yards (1,140 m)		52°19′43″N2°28′37″W / 52.32874°N 2.47691°W / 52.32874; -2.47691 (Southnett)	Herefordshire
Standedge Tunnels	Huddersfield Narrow Canal	5,698 yards (5,210 m)^[21]		53°35′29″N1°57′36″W / 53.591283°N 1.95996°W / 53.591283; -1.95996 (Standedge)	West Yorkshire to Greater Manchester	Standedge Tunnel entrance at Marsden
Strood Tunnel	Thames and Medway Canal	3,946 yards (3,608 m)	Ralph Walker	51°24′54″N0°28′52″E / 51.4149°N 0.4812°E / 51.4149; 0.4812 (Strood)	Kent
Tardebigge Tunnel	Worcester and Birmingham Canal	580 yards (530 m)
Wast Hills Tunnel	Worcester and Birmingham Canal	2,726 yards (2,493 m)^[22]		52°23′25″N1°56′24″W / 52.3902°N 1.9400°W / 52.3902; -1.9400 (Wast Hills)	West Midlands (county) to Worcestershire	Wast Hills Tunnel, southern portal

Navigable adits and mine levels

An adit is a horizontal entrance to a mine:

Tunnel	Canal	Length	Designer	Coordinates	Notes	Image
Hollingwood Common Tunnel	Chesterfield Canal
Worsley Navigable Levels	Bridgewater Canal			53°30′2.2″N2°22′52.2″W / 53.500611°N 2.381167°W / 53.500611; -2.381167 (Worsley Navigable Levels)	Greater Manchester	Starvationer at Ellesmere Port Canal Museum with a demonstration of the process of legging to push the boat through the tunnels

Listed by canal

Grand Union Canal

Blisworth Tunnel, Northamptonshire
Braunston Tunnel, Northamptonshire
Crick Tunnel, Northamptonshire
Husbands Bosworth Tunnel, Leicestershire
Saddington Tunnel, Leicestershire
Shrewley Tunnel, Warwickshire

Union Canal (Scotland)

Falkirk Tunnel, Falkirk
Roughcastle Tunnel, Falkirk. Part of the Falkirk Wheel complex; leads to Locks 1 & 2 and South Basin

Related Research Articles

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England. The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for 25.5 miles (41.0 km) in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal. Following acquisition by a railway company in 1856, it gradually declined, the southern section being un-navigable by 1945, and the northern section little better.

The Grantham Canal ran 33 miles (53 km) from Grantham through 18 locks to West Bridgford, where it joined the River Trent. It was built primarily for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797 and its profitability steadily increased until 1841. It was then sold to a railway company, declined, and was finally closed in 1936. It was used as a water supply for agriculture, and so most of it remained in water after closure, although bridges were lowered. Since the 1970s, the Grantham Canal Society have been working to restore parts of it. Two stretches are now navigable to small vessels. A new route will be required where the canal joins the Trent, as road building has severed the original one.

Dudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley Canal Line No 1, England. At about 3,172 yards (2,900.5 m) long, it is now the second longest canal tunnel on the UK canal network today.. However, since the Dudley Tunnel is not continuous this status is sometimes questioned:.

The Stourbridge Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England. It links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal with the Dudley Canal, and hence, via the Birmingham Canal Navigations, to Birmingham and the Black Country.

The Dudley Canal is a canal passing through Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh network of connected navigable inland waterways and forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route.

Norwood Tunnel was a 2,884-yard-long, 9-foot-3-inch-wide (2.82 m) and 12-foot-high (3.7 m) brick lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood, Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton, South Yorkshire, England.

The Lapal Tunnel is a disused 3,795-yard (3,470 m) canal tunnel on the five mile dry section of the Dudley No. 2 Canal in the West Midlands, England. It takes its name from the settlement of Lapal.

Aston Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Digbeth Branch Canal terminates and meets the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal near to Aston, Birmingham, England.

Tardebigge Locks or the Tardebigge Flight is the longest flight of locks in the UK, comprising 30 narrow locks on a two-and-a-quarter-mile (3.6 km) stretch of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Worcestershire. It raises the waterway 220 feet (67 m), and lies between the Tardebigge tunnel to the North and the Stoke Prior flight of six narrow locks to the South. The Tardebigge Engine House is also on this stretch.

Kings Norton Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal terminates and meets the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Kings Norton, Birmingham, England.

The North Pennine Ring is a canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester, Leeds and Castleford. It follows parts of five canals, and shares much of its route with the Outer Pennine Ring, which uses a different route for the southern crossing of the Pennines.

The Outer Pennine Ring is an English canal ring which crosses the Pennines between Manchester, Leeds and Castleford. Its route follows parts of eight canals, and includes the longest canal tunnel in England. The ring was completed in 2001, with the opening of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Much of the route is shared with the North Pennine Ring, which crosses the Pennines by a different route on the southern leg.

Marple Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Macclesfield Canal terminates and meets the Peak Forest Canal at Marple, Greater Manchester, England.

Dukinfield Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Peak Forest Canal, the Ashton Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal meet near Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. The area has been designated by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council as a conservation area.

Delph Locks or the Delph Nine are a series of eight narrow canal locks on the Dudley No. 1 Canal in Brierley Hill, in the West Midlands, England. They were opened in 1779, and reopened in 1967 following restoration of the Dudley Canal and the Stourbridge Canal in a joint venture between the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Society and the British Waterways Board.

The Avon Ring is a canal ring which is located to the south west of Birmingham in England, and connects the major towns of Stratford-upon-Avon, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Worcester and the southern outskirts of Birmingham. It consists of stretches of four waterways, and is heavily locked, with a total of 129 locks on its route of 109 miles (175 km).

City Road Lock is a lock on the Regent's Canal, in the London Borough of Islington, England. It is located a short distance to the east of Islington Tunnel, and immediately to the west of City Road Basin.

Maida Hill Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Regent's Canal in London, England. The two other tunnels on the Regent's Canal are Islington Tunnel and Eyre's Tunnel.

References

↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 366.
1 2 Cumberlidge 2009, p. 128.
↑ Mosse 2018, p. 142.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 161.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 105.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 363.
↑ Mosse 2018, p. 113.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 99.
1 2 Cumberlidge 2009, p. 76.
↑ Mosse 2018, p. 117.
↑ "Foulridge Tunnel - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Grace's Guide. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
↑ "FOULRIDGE - Village goes online! - Internet Archive". www.burnleyexpress.net. Burnley Express. 30 July 2004. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019.
↑ Mosse 2018, p. 138.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 72.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 319.
↑ The Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust.
↑ information – CanalPlanAC 2020.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 246.
↑ Skempton 2002, p. 736.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 310.
1 2 Cumberlidge 2009, p. 152.
↑ Cumberlidge 2009, p. 339.

Bibliography

"Lord Ward's Tunnel". information – CanalPlanAC. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
Cumberlidge, Jane (2009). Inland Waterways of Great Britain (8th Ed.). Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 978-1-84623-010-3.
"History of the tunnels". The Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
Mosse, Jonathan (2018) [1969]. Waterways Guide 2: Severn, Avon & Birmingham. Nicholson. ISBN 978-0-00-825801-6.
Skempton, Sir Alec; et al. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Vol 1: 1500 to 1830. Thomas Telford. ISBN 978-0-7277-2939-2.

External links

Canal tunnels of London

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009366-1] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 366.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009128-2] 1 2 Cumberlidge 2009, p. 128.

[FOOTNOTEMosse2018142-3] Mosse 2018, p. 142.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009161-4] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 161.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009105-5] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 105.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009363-6] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 363.

[FOOTNOTEMosse2018113-7] Mosse 2018, p. 113.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge200999-8] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 99.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge200976-9] 1 2 Cumberlidge 2009, p. 76.

[FOOTNOTEMosse2018117-10] Mosse 2018, p. 117.

[11] "Foulridge Tunnel - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Grace's Guide. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

[Burnley_Express_2004-12] "FOULRIDGE - Village goes online! - Internet Archive". www.burnleyexpress.net. Burnley Express. 30 July 2004. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019.

[FOOTNOTEMosse2018138-13] Mosse 2018, p. 138.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge200972-14] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 72.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009319-15] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 319.

[FOOTNOTE''The_Dudley_Canal_and_Tunnel_Trust''-16] The Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust.

[FOOTNOTE''information – CanalPlanAC''2020-17] information – CanalPlanAC 2020.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009246-18] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 246.

[FOOTNOTESkempton2002736-19] Skempton 2002, p. 736.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009310-20] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 310.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009152-21] 1 2 Cumberlidge 2009, p. 152.

[FOOTNOTECumberlidge2009339-22] Cumberlidge 2009, p. 339.

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v t e Navigable canals of the United Kingdom
England	Aire and Calder ¹ Ashby-de-la-Zouch ² Ashton Basingstoke Canal Beverley Beck Birmingham Canal Navigations ³ Bridgewater Bridgwater and Taunton Buckingham Arm ² Bude ² Calder and Hebble ¹ Cambridgeshire Lodes ³ Chelmer and Blackwater ¹ Chesterfield ² Chichester ² Coventry Driffield Droitwich Erewash Foss Dyke Gloucester and Sharpness Grand Union ³ Grand Western ² Grantham ² Herefordshire and Gloucestershire ² Hollinwood Branch ² Huddersfield Broad Huddersfield Narrow Ipswich and Stowmarket ¹² Kennet and Avon ¹ Lancaster ² Leeds and Liverpool ³ Lee Navigation ¹ Limehouse Llangollen Lydney Macclesfield Maidenhead Waterways Manchester Bolton & Bury ² Manchester Ship Canal Market Weighton ² Middle Level Navigations ³ Montgomery ² North Walsham & Dilham ¹² Nottingham ² Oxford ¹ Peak Forest Pocklington ² Regent's Canal Ribble Link ¹ Ripon Rochdale Royal Military Canal Sankey ² Selby Sheffield and South Yorkshire ¹³ Shropshire Union ³ Sleaford ¹² South Forty-Foot Drain Staffordshire and Worcestershire Stort ¹ Stourbridge Stratford-upon-Avon Stroudwater ² Thames and Medway ² Thames and Severn ² Trent and Mersey ³ Weaver ¹ Wey and Arun ² Wey and Godalming ¹ Wilts & Berks ² Witham Navigable Drains ³ Worcester and Birmingham
Northern Ireland	Coalisland Canal Lagan Canal Newry Canal Shannon–Erne Waterway Strabane Canal Ulster Canal
Scotland	Caledonian Canal ¹ Crinan Canal Forth and Clyde Union Canal
Wales	Llangollen Canal Monmouthshire and Brecon ² Montgomery Canal ² Neath and Tennant ² Swansea Canal ²
Features	Aqueducts (list) Basins Locks Rings Tunnels (list) Winding holes
Related topics	British Waterways Canal & River Trust Scottish Canals History of the British canal system Manchester Pusher Narrowboats National Waterways Museum Navigable aqueduct Waterways Ireland
Notes: ¹ Contains canalised river. ² Partly or mostly navigable, and/or under restoration. ³ A system of canals. Canals which form part of this system are not listed here individually.