Boaters, tour guides, gardeners and general maintenance helpers are being sought to get Britain’s longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel back up and running.
Volunteers play a vital role at the attraction, improving the overall visitor experience. Although coronavirus restrictions mean the attraction is initially likely to open with a reduced offering, we are hopeful that the visitors centre and café can open in April, with boat trips through the tunnel returning this summer.
A real gem
Andy Widdowson, attraction manager, said: “Standedge is a real gem of the waterways and offers a fascinating insight into industrial Britain.
“We are hopeful of partially reopening the site this spring, making sure we are following all the latest Covid guidance to keep visitors and colleagues safe As we are a charity, volunteers play a huge role in the everyday running of the site, and we're appealing for people to register their interest and get trained up.
“We know it has been a very difficult time for many people who may feel isolated. Volunteering is a really great way to meet like-minded people, spend time outdoors and make a difference to your local area.”
Our roles
Full training will be offered for all roles, which include:
Grounds maintenance: Duties include mowing, gardening, general site upkeep and interacting with visitors.
Boat guide: Duties include giving information about the history of the tunnel to passengers on the tunnel trips and undertaking pilot duties when required.
We would also be interested to hear from anyone with a Boatmaster's Licence who would like to captain our passengers boats through the tunnel.
Museum guide: Duties include greeting museum visitors, sharing the history of the site and tunnel, promoting engagement with the exhibits, working in the souvenir section and selling boat tickets onsite.
Events support: Duties include booking admin, marshalling during large visitor events, liaising between clients and suppliers and providing day to day support to the events manager.
Ranger (Huddersfield Narrow Canal): Duties include providing assistance to boaters through the locks, supporting the safe operation of the canal, completing small maintenance tasks, promoting wellbeing and being a friendly face of the Trust.
Things to do
As well as the tunnel and boat trips, the site includes a visitor centre and museum, café, garden, children's play area and space for weddings and other events.
For more information, contact Standedge direct on 01484 844298, or email [email protected]
For news of any special events at Standedge over winter, including one-off trips, visitors can follow the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Standedge/
