Diggle - Saturday 11th May 2019

The first question about our May walk was “what is a Diggle?”. The name comes from the Saxon word “degle” meaning valley. The original hamlets housed farm workers and loom operatives. We passed many of gritstone buildings with their distinctive mullioned windows. These were designed to support bigger windows to admit more light for the workers inside.

The walk covered 4.5 miles in mainly dry and fair weather. Our group of eight set out from the public car park in Uppermill and climbed up towards the Pennine Bridleway National Trail, flanking the Saddleworth moors. We headed towards the Diggle Hotel pub which was unfortunately closed. This did not stop us from having a short refreshment break there on the outward journey and from using the garden benches for our lunch break on the return leg!

We dropped back to join the Huddersfield Narrow Canal where horses were routinely used to pull pull the barges. However, a canal tunnel was necessary to pass beneath the hills. Here the boats were moved by professional “loggers” who lay on their backs on the boat’s cabin top and “walked” along the roof of the tunnel to propel the boat.

This tunnel, the Standedge Tunnel, was the longest (over 3 miles), the highest above sea level (645ft) and deepest underground (636ft) in Britain. It is so narrow that only one boat at a time could use it, taking around 2 hours. The canal was completed in 1811, used until the 1920’s, and reclaimed in the 1990’s.

Our final point of call was for a well deserved ice cream at Grandpa Greens located on the canal before returning to the starting point.

Our group setting out from Uppermill

The railway cutting through Uppermill

Looking back on Uppermill

W H Shaw's grade 2 listed Pallet Mill

A friendly local

A view of the moors near Saddleworth

Standege Tunnel Map

Entrance to tunnel.

Blue plaque to Thomas Telford

Grandpa Green's Cafe

Huddersfield Narrow Canal

First of the ducklings

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