Blisworth Tunnel was the only section unfinished. This was despite the tunnel having been under construction for seven years: the gap was filled by a temporary horse-drawn tramway over the top of the hill, with goods being transported from boat to wagon and back again. The tramway, built in 1801, was Northamptonshire's first railway. In March 1805, the tunnel was finally opened and the rails were used to connect the main line of the canal to the River Nene until the branch canal to Northampton was constructed. Until the 1870s travel through the tunnel was only achieved by men lying on their
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