Stratford-upon-Avon Canal

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal runs from Birmingham's suburbia to Shakespeare's Stratford in 25 picturesque miles.

It joins the River Avon at the Bancroft Basin in Stratford-upon-Avon, where a pretty park and waterfront paths are overlooked by the famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Just outside Stratford, the canal passes through the tiny village of Wilmcote, where you can stop and visit Mary Arden’s house. The historic half-timbered Tudor farmhouse was home to Shakespeare’s mother before she was married.

Also nearby is Edstone, or Bearley, Aqueduct, a cast-iron trough aqueduct, and the charming conservation area of Wootton Wawen with many ancient timber-frames houses. The canal’s split bridges are unique, Grade II-listed, structures, built with a gap to allow the tow ropes of the boat horses to pass through.

The canal is usually considered as a northern and a southern section, with the division between the two at Kingswood Junction.

Find stoppages, restrictions and other navigational advice for this waterway.