Another method of keeping the canal level was to build tunnels. On the Brecon and Abergavenny canal there was a short tunnel near Talybont, called the Ashford Tunnel.

For the early canal engineers, building tunnels was probably the most difficult and dangerous task, but they did avoid the long winding routes around hills.
This is part of the specification for the tunnel built near Talybont. It dates from 1797.

The tunnel would have been built by working out a straight route across the top of the hill and then sinking a number of shafts to the required level of the canal. Digging would have then started in both directions from the bottom of the shafts and at the entrance of the tunnel. These techniques were very basic and sometimes the two tunnels did not meet up.

When the tunnel was complete the horses which pulled the canal boats would have walked over the hill and the crew would "leg" the boat through the tunnel. This means they would have to lie across the sides of the boat and push with their feet against the tunnel sides or roof.

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