Below, two photos of the Blisworth Tunnel on the Grand Junction Canal in England. It's 2813 meters long and was completed in 1805. Note that there are no towpaths for pulling the barges.
Barges were moved through the tunnel by "leggers." One old boatman described it thus:
"Legging? We put the boards out on each side of the boat at the front, and fastened them there. Then we skipped a half sack of corn under as a cushion, see, and just walked our way along the sides of the tunnel, inside. 'Arecastle, that is, weaving our feet over each other, lying half sideways all the time. We just kept on walking! It took us about two hours and a half, and very damp it was too. Dripping damp and dark."
From Roger Watson. Focus on History. The Transport Revolution. London: Longman Group Ltd., 1971.
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