THE traditional art of legging was revived at the Standedge Canal Tunnel Festival earlier this month.

The event, celebrating 20-years since the Towpath Act was rescinded, saw 19th century horse-drawn narrow boat Maria, ascend the Diggle locks up to Standedge Tunnel.

Maria was then legged through the three-mile-long tunnel towards Marsden by a pair of leggers, who took turns.

The boat then descended down the Colne Valley into Huddersfield before returning to Lancashire over the course of last week.

Horse boat ‘Captain’ Sue Day, said this was not the first time she had traversed the Pennines in a non-motorised boat.

“In 1988 the Huddersfield Canal Society celebrated the axing of the Towpath Act.

“They requested that I provide the horsepower for their motorboat which had broken down.

“We pulled the boat from Marsden to West Slaithwaite, which was as far as we could go as the canal wasn’t fully restored until 2001,” she added.