Last legger Ronnie puts his feet up

Ronnie with a certificate from the Horseboating Society

90-year-old has pride of place at canal event

A sprightly 90-year-old old, whose life underground has inspired canal-lovers to follow in his footsteps, will host pride of place at a key event this weekend.

Ronnie Barnes and his wife Sheila (87) will take a slow boat to Marsden through the UK’s longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel powered by a team of leggers.

Ronnie is the last remaining legger from an age when narrow boats were punted through the 31/4-mile long Stanedge Tunnel by teams of hard-working men.

Without the aid of engines or horses, they lay on their backs and, using hobnailed boots, propelled cargoes weighting 23 tons, on arduous underground journeys lasting more than three hours.

On Saturday, the couple will be special guests of honour when the Horseboating Society, make the first journey of the year as part of a two-day event at the tunnel.

Ronnie, a one-time canal employee, used to leg the tunnel with a maintenance barge accompanied by another member of his team.

“It was a really tough job,” he recalled at his Marsden home. “I have lost count of the number of journeys I legged through the tunnel.

“The only light was from a Tilley lamp and if that ever went out, you had to make the journey by touch and feel in pitch blackness.

“Some points are only 6in from the tunnel wall. And the tunnel itself is not straight so those parts needed negotiating with extra care.

“The knack was to build up speed when you were legging the very narrow parts so your momentum pushed you through the wider sections.”

The barges carried stone, coal and other commodities and when the tunnel closed in 1947 Ronnie joining the maintenance crew working on the railway tunnel.

One of five children, he was captured during the Second World War and escaped from a prisoner of war camp three times, finally making it back to Britain after an elusive seven-month hike across Europe to the Black Sea.

Latterly, he and his wife ran a highly successful bakery business in Marsden.

The journey runs from Diggle to Tunnel End, Marsden. The boat, Maria, will be towed to the tunnel entrance by Bilbo Baggins and is expected to be in the tunnel from 1-4 pm. There is also a guided walk for the public travelling with the horseboat over the tunnel top from 2-4pm. Other events will be staged in May and details are on the society’s website at www.horseboating.org.uk  

Volunteers for the events should contact Sue Day on: sueday_horse@yahoo.co.uk  or: 01457-834863, 07711-121-056.