Huddersfield Broad Canal

Note: A handcuff key will be required as anti-vandal locks are fitted along this canal.

For many boaters, it is the gateway to the Pennines, and it is also popular for walking, cycling and angling.

The Huddersfield Broad Canal has been reborn from a weed-clogged channel in the 1980s to a popular boating route today, thanks to the restoration of the connecting Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the upgrading of the canal facilities.

Days out

Situated on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, Standedge Tunnel is the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel to be built in Britain - and the nearby Visitor Centre is a great place for a family day out. We've put together a free map and guide to Standedge Tunnel, with useful information for all the family.

Download your guide

The history

The three-mile Huddersfield Broad Canal linked the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in the centre of Huddersfield with the Calder & Hebble Navigation at Cooper Bridge. Originally known as Sir John Ramsden's Canal, his family virtually owned Huddersfield, before becoming known as the Broad Canal to distinguish it from the Narrow Canal. It served the developing textile industry, bringing in coal and raw materials and shipping out manufactured textiles. It was taken over by the London & North Western Railway in 1847, and purchased by the Calder & Hebble Navigation in 1945.

Unlike the Huddersfield Narrow, the Broad Canal was never abandoned. However, it saw little use for 50 years until the Narrow was reopened in 2001, when the Broad Canal became part of a through-route once again.