page_title: Pennines
section_title: Transport
hierarchical_section_title: Pennines / Transport
caption_attribution_description: English: Topographic Map of the UK; Mercator projection, 1.750 x 2.545 px (blank w/out dots).
context_page_description: The Pennines, also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, is a range of hills and mountains separating North West England from Yorkshire and North East England.
  Often described as the "backbone of England", the Pennine Hills form a more-or-less continuous range in most of Northern England. The range stretches northwards from the Peak District at the southern end, through the South Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines to the Tyne Gap, which separates the range from the Cheviot Hills across the Anglo-Scottish border. South of the Aire Gap is a western spur into east Lancashire, comprising the Rossendale Fells, West Pennine Moors and the Bowland Fells in North Lancashire. The Howgill Fells and Orton Fells in Cumbria are sometimes considered to be Pennine spurs to the west of the range. The Pennines are an important water catchment area with numerous reservoirs in the head streams of the river valleys.
  The region is widely considered to be one of the most scenic areas of the United Kingdom. The North Pennines and Nidderdale are designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as are Bowland and Pendle Hill.
context_section_description: Gaps that allow west–east communication across the Pennines include the Tyne Gap between the Pennines and the Cheviots, through which the A69 road and Tyne Valley railway link Carlisle and Newcastle upon Tyne. The A66 road, its summit at 1,450 feet (440 m), follows the course of a Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith through the Stainmore Gap between the Eden Valley in Cumbria and Teesdale in County Durham. The Aire Gap links Lancashire and Yorkshire via the valleys of the Aire and Ribble. Other high-level roads include Buttertubs Pass, named from limestone potholes near its 1,729-foot (527 m) summit, between Hawes in Wensleydale and Swaledale and the A684 road from Sedbergh to Hawes via Garsdale Head which reaches 1,100 feet (340 m).
  Further south the A58 road traverses the Calder Valley between West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester reaching 1,282 feet (391 m) between Littleborough and Ripponden, while the A646 road along the Calder Valley between Burnley and Halifax reaches 764 feet (233 m) following valley floors. In the Peak District the A628 Woodhead road links the M67 motorway in Greater Manchester with the M1 motorway in South Yorkshire and Holme Moss is crossed by the A6024 road, whose highest point is near Holme Moss transmitting station between Longdendale and Holmfirth.
  The Pennines are traversed by the M62 motorway, the highest motorway in England at 1,221 feet (372 m) on Windy Hill near Junction 23.
  Three trans-Pennine canals built during the Industrial Revolution cross the range:
  The Huddersfield Narrow Canal connects Huddersfield in the east with Manchester in the west. When it reaches Marsden, it passes under the hills through the Standedge Tunnel to Diggle. Fortnightly during the summer season, one can pass through the tunnel on a public narrowboat.
  The Rochdale Canal crosses the Pennines via Rochdale, connecting the market town of Sowerby Bridge with Manchester.
  The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the longest and most northerly, crosses the Pennines via Skipton, Burnley, Chorley and Wigan connecting Leeds in the east with Liverpool in the west.
  The first of three Woodhead Tunnels was completed by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845, engineered by Charles Vignoles and Joseph Locke. At the time of its completion in 1845, Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels at a length of 3 miles 13 yards (4,840 m); it was the first of several trans-Pennine tunnels including the Standedge and Totley tunnels, which are only slightly longer. The first two tunnels were replaced by Woodhead 3, which was longer at 3 miles 66 yards (4860m). It was bored for the overhead electrification of the route and completed in 1953. The tunnel was opened by the transport minister Alan Lennox-Boyd on 3 June 1954. It was designed by Sir William Halcrow & Partners.  The line was closed in 1981.
  The London and North Western Railway acquired the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway in 1847 and built a single-line tunnel parallel to the canal tunnel at Standedge with a length of 3 miles, 57 yards (4803 m). Today rail services along the Huddersfield line between Huddersfield and Victoria and Piccadilly stations in Manchester are operated by TransPennine Express and Northern. Between 1869 and 1876 the Midland Railway built the Settle-Carlisle Line through remote, scenic regions of the Pennines from near Settle to Carlisle passing Appleby-in-Westmorland and other settlements, some a distance from their stations. The line has survived, despite difficult times
  and is operated by Northern Rail.
  The Trans Pennine Trail, a long-distance route for cyclists, horse riders and walkers, runs west–east alongside rivers and canals, along disused railway tracks and through historic towns and cities from Southport to Hornsea (207 miles/333 km). It crosses the north–south Pennine Way (268 miles/431 km) at Crowden-in-Longdendale.
caption: The Pennines are traversed by several passes, mostly aligned with major rivers.