Huddersfield Narrow Canal – September 2026.
An appeal through Northern Canals Association for possible venues for the Wilderness Boat Owners’ Club to have a bi-annual cruise, led to the Huddersfield Canal Society suggesting the Huddersfield Narrow Canal as one of its events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the canal’s re-opening.
In Spring of 2026 one Yorkshire member with his trailer tested the canal’s slipway at the foot of the Diggle flight, which had not been used for 25 years and arrange trailer parking at a nearby caravan site.
In September eight club boats used the slipway to launch and spend the first night at Uppermill with a film show and talk by our chairman at the Civic Hall on the “Restoration”.
The next day found the boats going west to Roaches for a lunch at the canalside hostelry. Sunday, with the assistance of CRT volunteer lock-keepers, the ascent of the Diggle flight to the summit, at 645 feet above sea level the highest canal in Britain, followed by another talk on the Standedge Tunnels by Trevor Ellis.
Monday was the highlight with a complete transit of the longest and deepest canal tunnel in Britain – the “Everest of Canals” – in CRT’s 20 seater tunnel trip boat with commentary all the way. A return was made on the top deck of a double decker bus from where the top of many tunnel shafts were pointed out.
The last day, Tuesday saw the descent of the Diggle flight to the recovery of the boats up the slipway and home to find yet another adventure on their 23 foot trailboats.
Keith W Sykes
Huddersfield Canal Society.