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Tunnel free routes?


Dweeble

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If you like lots of locks and pretty scenery but not tunnels, then the Rochdale from the hire base at Sowerby Bridge would be ideal.  Go up to the summit and back and enjoy arguably the prettiest scenery on the whole canal network and some lovely towns and villages too.  Then if you have time you can go the other way and explore the Calder & Hebble and the Huddersfield Canals as far as Standedge.  I don't think you'll encounter a tunnel other than the one just below Tuel Lane lock which really is just a wide bridge.

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1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

If you like lots of locks and pretty scenery but not tunnels, then the Rochdale from the hire base at Sowerby Bridge would be ideal.

You forgot Falling Royd Tunnel. It may only be a corrugated steel culvert under the road, but it is curved and you can't see from one end to the other, and the arch shape is ideal for taking paint off the front corners of the cabin.

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On our first trip through Harecastle, younger son, then aged about 10 (ie about 35 years ago) absolutely refused to go through, so after making sure there was a clear track, we sent him by himself over the top.  He arrived before us, having run the second half for fear of being stolen by the gypsies encamped on the top.   He never refused a tunnel after that.

(sorry if this tale is ethnically unacceptable - I'm just reporting what he said.  B) )

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3 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

If you like lots of locks and pretty scenery but not tunnels, then the Rochdale from the hire base at Sowerby Bridge would be ideal.  Go up to the summit and back and enjoy arguably the prettiest scenery on the whole canal network and some lovely towns and villages too.  Then if you have time you can go the other way and explore the Calder & Hebble and the Huddersfield Canals as far as Standedge.  I don't think you'll encounter a tunnel other than the one just below Tuel Lane lock which really is just a wide bridge.

Im not sure I would recommend that to a beginner which the OP states they are? Perhaps a great one for a second time out?

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17 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Fixed that for you. 😀

It really isn't that bad.  The flight down into Manchester on the western side is pretty full-on but Sowerby Bridge to the summit or Littleborough is really nice and the scenery more than makes up for the hard work.  Also, it's often possible to share locks, which halves the work needed by each boat.  In that respect, I'd say the HNC is much harder.

 

Sowerby Bridge to the summit is 36 locks but can easily be split into 2-3 days.  Tarbigge by comparison is 30 locks and pretty much has to be done all in one go.

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9 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

It really isn't that bad.  The flight down into Manchester on the western side is pretty full-on but Sowerby Bridge to the summit or Littleborough is really nice and the scenery more than makes up for the hard work.  Also, it's often possible to share locks, which halves the work needed by each boat.  In that respect, I'd say the HNC is much harder.

 

Sowerby Bridge to the summit is 36 locks but can easily be split into 2-3 days.  Tarbigge by comparison is 30 locks and pretty much has to be done all in one go.

They're both fantastic canals, so long as you like locks and allow time for things like low pounds.

 

If you're on your own or don't have many (or any!) crew the HNC (narrow!) is easier. If you can share with another boat the Rochdale is easier, but just be aware that there aren't ever many boats travelling on either canal (only a few per day each way even in summer) so lock shares can be hard to come by.

 

We (four of us) were fortunate enough to go over the Rochdale summit from Littleborough to Todmordon together with a sister Shire boat (crewed by four fit friendly German tourists) and the 30 locks absolutely flew by in a few hours 🙂

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  • 4 weeks later...

We hired from Wyvern last summer. It was a midweek break and we did Linslade to Berkhamsted and back with not a tunnel to be seen… plenty of locks though so depends how active you want to be. (We turned at the railway station which made it 26 locks each way..!) After leaving Linslade (which happens quite quickly) it’s rural until getting into Berkhamsted which is mostly lovely to boat through.  We haven’t boated (?!) further than that but have walked the Berko-Hemel stretch. Still no tunnels but not always great scenery. 

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