Inside incredible 'bucket list' boat trip through UK's longest and deepest canal tunnel under the Pennines

The lucky punters slipped from one side of the Pennines to the other during their underground voyage inside the 213-year-old Standedge Tunnel. The 3.5-mile-long route on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal goes from near Marsden, West Yorks., to Diggle in Greater Manchester, in around two hours.

The Georgian-era tunnel is not just the deepest in the UK, at 194m (638ft) deep, but also the highest, sitting at 196m (645ft) above sea level.

It comes after around 500 canoeists were given the chance to paddle along the unique waterway during the summer. The Canal & River Trust, who put on the one-off 'through-tunnel' boat trip on Thursday, said they hoped to repeat the ‘bucket list’ experience regularly next year.

Their spokesperson said: “It’s a two-hour experience and it takes you from the North West, under the Pennines and over to Yorkshire. And that’s the whole length of the tunnel, which is approximately 3.5 miles long. That hasn’t happened for the last four years.

“It’s a bucket list experience to go on the UK’s longest, deepest, and highest canal. This year is also the 230th anniversary of work beginning on the tunnel. We hope to run it again in 2025 on a more regular basis.”

The tunnel took 17 years to dig and was finally finished back in 1811. Sadly, 50 men died during its construction, which cost more than £123,000 - the equivalent of £8.8 million in today’s money.