Blisworth Tunnel sections lined with pre-cast concrete rings. It was also used to test out the materials that were later used on the Channel Tunnel. An unused ring is on display near the south portal. Blisworth Tunnel Blisworth Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, England, between the villages of Stoke Bruerne at the southern end and Blisworth at the northern end. The northern end is about from the northern end of the Grand Junction Canal at Braunston, Northamptonshire and the southern end about . At 3,076 yards (2,813m) long it is the third-longest navigable canal tunnel
William Jessop and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct built by Thomas Telford. It is known as the Cosgrove aqueduct and was designed and built by Bevan. Two tunnels also had to be built, at Braunston and Blisworth. The Blisworth Tunnel caused great problems, and was unfinished when the rest of the canal was ready. In fact Jessop considered abandoning it and using locks to carry the canal over the ridge. Jessop's temporary solution was a railway line laid over the ridge to carry traffic until the tunnel was completed. The Grand Junction Canal was enormously important in encouraging trade between London and the Midlands.