Greywell Tunnel

The Basingstoke Canal was first conceived in 1760-70s and eventually it's 37miles of navigation were completed in 1794. However it was never really commercially successful and the last boat to navigate its full length reached Basingstoke in 1910. By the mid-1960's its locks were decaying and the canal choked by weed and rubbish, with much of the towpath overgrown. 

Restoration of the canal was instigated by the Basingstoke Canal Society, and after nearly 20 years effort, thirty two miles of the waterway, from the Wey Navigation junction to the Greywell Tunnel, were formally reopened in May 1991 by HRH The Duke of Kent.

This is the eastern entry to the tunnel, a 1230yd (1.25km) tunnel cut through the  Greywell Hill. It has no towpath, so boats were taken through by the process of legging where two people would lie on a plank across the bows of the boat, and holding the plank with their hands, would propel the boat with their feet against the tunnel wall, which in the case of this tunnel could take up to 6 hours.  The plaque above the entrance notes that the tunnel portal was restored  in 1975.

Part of the tunnel collapsed in 1932 and by the 1950s it was completely blocked. It is now an important ecological site and home to five different species of bats.