Blisworth Tunnel has no tow path inside, but is wide enough for two narrowboats to pass in opposite directions. Work began in 1793, but errors by contractor left a wiggle in the tunnel, and after three years work it collapsed due to quicksand, claiming the lives of 14 men. It was then decided to begin again with a new tunnel. By the time the rest of the Grand Junction Canal had opened between London and Braunston, Northamptonshire in 1800, apart from the crossing of the River Great Ouse, the section of canal from Blisworth to the lower end of Stoke Bruerne locks
Harecastle Tunnel towpath was removed to increase the width of the tunnel and improve air capacity in the tunnel. Harecastle Tunnel Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire between Kidsgrove and Tunstall. The tunnel, which is long, was once one of the longest in the country. Its industrial purpose was for the transportation of coal to the kilns in the Staffordshire Potteries. The canal runs under Harecastle Hill near Goldenhill, the highest district in Stoke-on-Trent. Although described singularly as a tunnel, Harecastle is actually two separate but parallel tunnels built almost 50 years apart. The