Harecastle Canal Tunnel

The Harecastle Canal Tunnel takes the Trent & Mersey Canal under the Harecastle Hill near to the small Staffordshire town of Kidsgrove.

This was the second canal tunnel to be built and under the Harecastle Hill and was opened in 1827. This second tunnel was built with a tow path and so did not require the narrowboats to be ‘legged’ though its 1.6 miles (2.6km) length. With the advent of onboard propulsion, the tow path was removed.

The first tunnel was closed in the early years of the 20th century as had been affected by mining subsidence and was no longer safe.