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Blisworth Tunnel, on the Grand Union canal near Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire, is one of the longest in Britain – 3,076 yards (2.81 km) long and broad enough for two narrowboats to pass. When construction began on the Grand Junction canal, as it was then known, in 1793, the tunnel was a major feat of engineering. There were problems with alignment, but teams of navvies worked with picks and shovels for three years until they hit quicksand and the tunnel collapsed, killing 14 men.

The rest of the canal opened in 1800 and a road and tramway were built over Blisworth Hill to ‘tranship’ cargo from boats at either end of the collapsed tunnel. A new route was found and the tunnel finally opened on 25 March 1805, the last part of the Grand Junction canal to be completed.

The canal quickly became one of the main forms of transportation for goods from the Midlands to London, but nowadays is used mainly for pleasure cruises. However, its tragic past still lingers on. People travelling through Blisworth Tunnel have been confused by lights and a fork in the waterway, but in fact the tunnel runs straight through the hill. What people have seen is the flicker of candlelight at the spot where the first tunnel would have intersected with the main canal tunnel. The ghostly navvies are working there still…

The Boat Inn is linked to another tragedy in Blisworth Tunnel. Following a fire in the tunnel at the end of the nineteenth century, bodies were carried to the Boat and laid in the tap room.

Trips through the tunnel are available, starting from the Boat Inn, Bridge Road, Stoke Bruerne, Towcester, Northamptonshire NN12 7SB; Tel: (01604) 862428; Website: www.boatinn.co.uk