We Took Our Canal Boat Home into a 2 Mile Haunted Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel is one of the longest canal tunnels in Britain - 1.6 miles of darkness beneath Harecastle Hill on the Trent and Mersey Canal. It is said to be haunted by the Kidsgrove Boggart. The air draught limit is strict enough to require stripping the entire roof of our narrowboat before we enter. And once the South Portal doors close behind you, there is no way back. For the next 40 minutes, this is the only world that exists. This is slow travel at its most extreme. In this episode we prepare Serenissima for the passage: stripping the roof of solar panels, cameras, plants and Starlink equipment to meet the strict air draught limit, and measuring whether she will actually fit. We visit the entrance to the original Brindley tunnel, closed since 1914, where boatmen once spent three hours legging their way through in complete darkness. Then the doors shut behind us. After 40 minutes underground, we emerge at the North Portal and navigate onto the Macclesfield Canal before crossing the Red Bull Aqueduct, an 1828 engineering marvel that carries one canal directly over another. If you are researching Harecastle Tunnel narrowboat, Kidsgrove Boggart, haunted canals UK, Trent and Mersey Canal tunnel, canal tunnels England, narrowboat tunnel passage, Red Bull Aqueduct, Macclesfield Canal, narrowboat air draught limit, off grid narrowboat living, or slow travel UK, this is an honest account from two people who live it full time. Harecastle Tunnel facts: Air draught limit: 2.77 metres Length: 2,926 yards (approximately 1.6 miles) Passage time: up to 40 minutes Extractor fans installed 1954 to clear diesel fumes Original Brindley tunnel opened 1777 as the longest tunnel in the world; closed 1914 after partial collapse The orange water is caused by iron oxide leaching from old coal mines beneath the surrounding hills The tunnel is said to be haunted by the Kidsgrove Boggart, a headless figure whose appearance is said to predict disaster on the canal network. 🎵 All music in this film is original, composed and produced by Adam (PhD in audio-visual composition, University of Leeds) Who are The Floating Nomads? We are Rick and Adam, The Floating Nomads. We sold the house and now split our time between our UK narrowboat Serenissima and months of slow travel abroad by train, ferry and water. Whether spending winters in Malta and the Mediterranean or travelling from the Caribbean to Southampton on a repositioning cruise, we share the honest reality of life on the move. Our films combine Rick's marketing background with Adam's music PhD to capture the authentic atmosphere of every place we visit. Support the Journey New films: Every Friday evening (UK time). Channel members: Early access every Thursday, starting at just £2.99 per month. Members also unlock exclusive B-Side videos including this week's - Our Boat Had No Power (And Adam Made It Worse). Click Join under any video to support our work. Joining on a browser rather than the YouTube app means more of your support reaches us directly. Apple take a 30% cut from all in-app purchases. If you can, please join via a browser on your phone or computer. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 00:54 Westport Lake 02:48 Clearing the roof 06:33 The journey to Harecastle 08:04 The South Portal 09:35 Waiting for passage 10:48 The scale of the hill 13:36 Into the tunnel 15:10 The Kidsgrove Boggart 17:56 Out into the sunshine 19:38 The Red Bull Aqueduct 21:56 Mooring on the Macclesfield Canal #HarecastleTunnel #NarrowboatLife #UKCanals #SlowTravel #CanalTunnels #TrentAndMerseyCanal #KidsgroveB oggart #HauntedCanals #NarrowboatUK #MacclesfieldCanal #RedBullAqueduct #CanalHistory #OffGridLiving #NarrowboatLiving #FloatingNomads #BritishCanals #SlowTravelUK #LiveAboard #CanalBoat #UKWaterways