Standedge Tunnel Review
Standedge Tunnel
Marsden, Huddersfield
Reviewed by Gemma Ingham
Standedge Tunnel and Visitor Centre is located in Marsden, a quaint village in Huddersfield. I had heard of the town, but had no idea the canal tunnel existed, and was very interested to find out more. I wouldn’t say I was a waterways enthusiast but was brought up kayaking on the canals of West Yorkshire and have an interest in history, so was intrigued to learn more and find out why this particular canal tunnel had a visitor centre and offered guided boat trips into the tunnel.
Car parking for Standedge Tunnel is a cobblestone car park signposted off a main road and next to Marsden train station so is very easy to locate. The car park is a short 15 minute walk from the visitor centre, and a map is located at the entrance that shows where you are and where you need to go. I found it useful that the map was pretty foolproof with arrows showing the exact route you should take, and along the towpath walk there are signs telling you how many minutes of the walk you have left. There are also a few disabled parking spaces at the Visitor Centre itself should you be unable to make the 15 minute walk along the towpath.
The walk along the well maintained canal towpath on a crisp, sunny November afternoon was beautiful. It was hard to tell under the piles of wet leaves on the ground, but I’m pretty sure the path is tarmacked. Standedge Visitor Centre do say it is a pushchair friendly walk and I would agree with that (just maybe not on a wet November day!). Of course, it is a canal and there is no barrier between the path and canal so water safety considerations should be taken on board with young children.
As we approached the Visitor Centre I was struck by how open and picturesque it was. It’s located under large rolling hills and the views are sublime. The buildings are restored and extremely well maintained with the large visitor centre having bright red feature doors. We made our way to the Watersedge café directly next to the canal that had more than enough seating and picnic tables outside and a beautiful little garden area. There is a ramp allowing easy access to the café and we were greeted by friendly staff who provided us with our boat trip tickets. On a weekend the boat trips are every hour so we chose to sit outside by the canal for 20 minutes waiting for our trip.
While waiting, the canal boat returned from its last trip and I was struck by how friendly the boat guides were who were happy to chat with visitors even in between the boat rides. They seemed to thrive on talking local history and it was lovely to see people who so obviously loved their job. It was soon time for our boat ride so we boarded easily on a ramp and down some steps. We were able to sit at the front of the boat wearing hard hats. The inside of the boat has single seats down each side with plenty of windows to look out of, and a roof which would allow more protection from the drips from the ceiling of the tunnel.
We set off in good time, no waiting around, and were taken on a fantastic informative journey through Standedge Tunnel. Our guide was extremely engaging and time flew by. The tunnel itself is of course very dark and very narrow but I was assured should we feel claustrophobic they’d do everything they could to whisk us out of there. The boat does have lights on it so you are not in complete darkness and can see the water and tunnel ahead of you. Considering it’s essentially a long dark tunnel there are a surprising amount of things to look at and points of interest within it. The tunnel itself is 3.25 miles long and is Britain’s longest canal tunnel and over 200 years old.
Our guide took us through the initial building of the tunnel, how it was built, by whom and how many years it took. It was amazing to be transported back in time and to be imagining what took place in the exact space we were sat. The guide took us through how the tunnel was used and the railways built around it up until its demise in the mid 1900’s. At one point we had the lights on the boat turned off completely which really gave us the sense of how dark it must have been in the ‘olden days’ when the tunnel was the main passage for many boats.
When the boat started reversing back out I was disappointed and wanted to go further into the tunnel, it felt we had only been in for about 5 minutes when in reality it was about 20 minutes. I left the boat feeling I’d learned a lot and been on a mini adventure back in time. There is an option to take a boat ride the full length of the tunnel should you wish and I might consider this in future.
After our boat trip we called into the Watersedge Café and ordered a couple of Panini’s for lunch that were gorgeous and reasonable priced. The facilities in the café are very good with clean modern toilets and a small but surprisingly well priced gift shop area. The seating inside the café is plentiful and the staff really helpful and friendly.
We then strolled across to the Visitor Centre that is choc full of information about the canal and its history. Some we had learned on our guided trip and some we hadn’t. There were interactive displays, books, equipment and letters from the building of the tunnel on display, and a video playing telling more of the history of the tunnel portrayed by actors. At the other side of this ground floor is a superb soft play for younger children. My 2 year old, had she been with us would have loved it. It was very clean, bright and would keep a toddler amused for ages.
There is a function room on the 1st floor of the centre, and on the 2nd floor is ‘The Loft Space’ which is a creative space for designers in which workshops are held. Being a crafter I was in my element and was interested to see a variety of work shops and craft fairs are held there regularly.
We then strolled back along the canal towpath to the car park feeling we’d had a fun but educational day out. I would say a visit to Standedge Tunnel is a must for anyone with an interest in local history of any age. Considering that entry to the visitor centre is free and the only extra charge is for the guided boat trip, this is a fantastic educational day out for a family of all ages. What I initially thought would be a quick 1 hour visit for a guided boat trip turned into a 4 hour afternoon out and I certainly plan to go back to take my daughter there when she’s a little older. If I could give Standedge Tunnel and Visitor Centre 6 out of 5 I would!
Rating: 5/5 
30 minute boat trips cost from £3.50 to £4.50, 2 hour boat trips cost £15.
For more information visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/standedge-tunnel.
