Was the 'Narrow' opened too early?

ALREADY this month there have been three closures of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, continuing the ever continuing closures of the waterway, writes narrowboatworld Editor Tom Crossley.

There was the lock closure that caused the couple to be forced off the official moorings at Milsbridge (Hounded off moorings), then the canal was closed on the 15th when a wall collapsed and today (23rd) we learn that Lock 6 has problems with its cill and is closed.

Through navigation

It was way back in 1974 that the Huddersfield Canal Society was formed by a group of enthusiasts with the ambitious aim of restoring the then derelict Huddersfield Narrow Canal to through navigation from the Aston and Peak Forest canals to the northern canals of Yorkshire and Lancashire via the Calder & Hebble Navigation.

The above picture shows Melbourne Street in Stalybridge with its new channel and the picture below shows it all completed.

In the 1990s money was freely available for restoration, with the then British Waterways making full use, with the Kennet & Avon, Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow canals all receiving money—£32 millions in the case of the Huddersfield Narrow, and all being fully restored. Such were the funds available that the Link between the Ribble and Lancaster Canal was built and the derelict Anderton Boat Lift was also fully restored.

The picture below shows the waterway being installed through Stalybridge.

Funding

The funding in that hey-day of restoration was mainly from  the Millennium Lottery Fund and English Partnerships, with various smaller contributions from the various councils, societies and British Waterways. But after such successes, too many others realised money was available and so the cash dried-up, with the next big restoration of the Cotswold Canals getting very little and its complete restoration now in doubt.

It was in May 2001 that restoration work on the Huddersfield Narrow was completed with its official opening ceremony by HRH the Prince of Wales in September that year.

'The Impossible Dream'

Its restoration was termed 'The Impossible Dream' as the task involved work the like of which had never been accomplished before, building a new section of waterway through Stalybridge Town Centre and even moving a factory in Huddersfield to build a tunnel underneath, (pictured) then replacing the factory over the top.

Then there was the restoration of the Standedge Tunnel that at 5,700 yards is the longest canal tunnel in the country—itself a great undertaking, that acts as the summit pound of the waterway.

It is the tunnel that however restricts the use of the waterway as every boat has to have a 'chaperone', the best known of them being 'Fred' who gives a knowledgeable running commentary through the whole distance. The problem is that this has been restricting the number of boats allowed through the tunnel to no more than nine a week. And of course many boaters quell at the thought of the 84 locks over a distance of under 20 miles.  The unusual photograph above shows our boat nearing the western entrance of Standedge Tunnel in 2011.