The canal is usually considered as a northern and a southern section.
The Northern Stratford starts at Kings Norton Junction, with its guillotine-gated stop-lock that prevented water loss from one company's line to the other. It continues on the same level for ten miles then descends by 19 locks to Kingswood Junction, where there is a link to the Warwick & Birmingham Canal (now the Grand Union Canal).
The South Stratford is memorable for its split bridges, built with a gap to allow the tow ropes of the boat horses to pass through, and its unique barrel-roofed lock cottages.
The charming conservation area of Wootton Wawen has many ancient timber-frames houses. Nearby is Edstone, or Bearley, Aqueduct, with its cast-iron trough.
Just before 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.
The canal 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.
