Canal tunnel in the context of Harecastle Tunnel

⭐ Core Definition: Canal tunnel

A canal tunnel is a tunnel for a canal. The building of a canal tunnel is crucial to help a waterway that is normally used for shipping cross a difficult section of terrain. They are also constructed to reduce the dependency on canal locks.

The longest canal tunnel in the world is the Rove Tunnel in France, currently disused. Other notable examples of canal tunnels include the proposed Stad Ship Tunnel in Norway, a proposed tunnel for sea going vessels, Standedge Tunnel, the longest, deepest and highest in the United Kingdom and Harecastle Tunnel, another noteworthy tunnel in the UK.

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Canal tunnel in the context of Chirk Tunnel

Chirk Tunnel is a canal tunnel near Chirk, Wales. It lies on the Llangollen Canal, immediately northwards of the Chirk Aqueduct. It is 421 metres (460 yd) long and has a complete towpath inside.

The tunnel is designed for a single standard narrowboat, so passing is not possible. The tunnel is straight enough to be able to see if a boat is already inside the tunnel, and boats are required to show a light. Northbound boats must maintain power and momentum in order to push through, due to the shallow, narrow nature of the canal in the tunnel (such that water has little space to pass around the displacement of the boat), and the relatively fast 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) southbound current of the canal. The tunnel, the tunnel portals and the canal basin are collectively a Grade II* listed structure.

View the full Wikipedia page for Chirk Tunnel

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