The 25.5 mile long Stratford-on-Avon Canal runs between Kings Norton Junction near Birmingham
(where it connects with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal) more or less in a
south easterly direction to Stratford upon Avon (where it links up with the River Avon).
The canal was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1793 and after some delays finally opened between Kings Norton
Junction and Lapworth in 1803 and eventually connected with the Avon at Stratford at the end of June 1816.
The Canal's locks are very similar to those found on the Oxford Canal i.e. they are narrow and only
one barge at a time can go through - transversing the Flight at Lapworth can therefore take some time - particularly
the 6 to 14 sequence and shortly after that the 15 to 19 sequence of locks all of which are right on top of each other.
Kings Norton Junction is a really nice peaceful area with it's nice old Junction Bridge 72, a beautifuly made
old brick warehouse and additionally several seats along the grassy areas which are just right for stopping off
for a lunch break or picnic. Several cycle routes intersect at the junction - by using the Worcester Canal's
towpath the centre of Birmingham is only about 6 miles away in one direction and Worcester around 25 miles in
the other.
Right at the head of Kings Norton Junction is the fairly large Junction House - it's noticeboard
makes interesting reading concerning toll and cargo charges in effect in 1894. For instance tonnage per mile of Lime at 1/2d,
manure, bricks tile and stone at 3/4d, cattle, sheep and pigs were 1-1/2d and on top of this a charge of 1d per
mile per boat.
Around 200 yards along the Stratford upon Avon Canal there is a quite rare and nicely preserved double guillotine stop lock - these type of locks were used to control water flow between canals owned by different companies - water was a valuable commodity. The stop lock mechanism is still there and shows the gearings, chains and iron gantry as well as the oak "guillotines" at each end of the lock.
The canal starts off by passing through residential areas of Birmingham's suburbs for around 5 miles but you
would hardly know this - it is often heavily tree-lined and very peaceful. The canal is quite wide for narrowboats and the
towpath is generally in really good condition as far as Dickens Heath with just one short stretch where it
has become muddy.
Brandwood Tunnel is 322 metres in length and wide enough to be able to take two way narrowboat traffic - the
size of barge it can accommodate is maximum 2.13 metres Beam and 2.1 metres Air draft. There is no towpath within
the tunnel - in days past boatmen pulled the narrowboas and barges through by using the iron hand-railings which were
built into its sides. If cycling or walking along the canal you have to divert up into Brandwood End. Although it's
just a short distance you have to use a side road and then cross a major road where several
main roads meet (there are pedestrian lights) and
nothing is marked. From the West Portal walk up to the road - turn left and then go right on a path which cuts across
grass to the main road. Go straight across the road and then shortly bear left down a path on the right and back
onto the towpath.
Up to this part of the canal there are very few bridges crossing the canal but from Dickens Heath onwards you
start to regularly come across many really nice old brick bridges. The towpath changes to grass from here - when
walked there had been little rainfall for several weeks and most of the towpath was dry however it is obvious
from the surface that in places this must get extremely muddy when wet and probably difficult to traverse for
cyclists. The canal is completely lined with beautiful trees and quite dense foliage for some miles now and walking along
especially with a little bit of sunshine getting through is a complete walking pleasure.
Just after passing Bridge 16 there is the feeder arm which provides water to the
canal from the three reservoirs at Earlswood Lakes - these reservoirs were built
in the 1820s.
The Stratford upon Avon Canal has something of a split personality as far as it's bridges are concerned - right up to and including Bridge 30 (which is a turnover bridge) they are standard brick bridges with room under the bridge on one side or the other for the towpath. However at Lock 7 you come across a complete change - many of the bridges are made of cast iron and are footbridges placed at the end of many of the locks. These bridges were constructed in two sections with a one inch gap in the centre which enabled the tow-ropes attached to the horses to be passed through and thus avoid frequent un-harnessing. Bridge 32 (see the photo above) is a cast iron turnover footbridge i.e. the towpath changes sides - and to accommodate the towrope and avoid un-harnessing/tangling up the tow-rope was guided round an iron "cotton reel".
The area around the flight of locks at Lapworth is really well maintained with plenty of grass areas and quite a few bench seats available for people to use whilst perhaps watching the narrowboats navigating the many locks. The Lapworth Lock Flight consists of 26 locks in all with locks 6 to 14 immediately next to each other - the locks themselves are single locks with double bottom gates. In between each lock there is a quite large pool / pound of water available for any transitting narrowboats needing to wait their turn - these mini-reservoirs are also very useful for providing an immediate water source to the locks.
The canal provides a connection with the Grand Union Canal Main Line about halfway along it's route at Kingswood Junction towards the bottom of the Lapworth Lock Flight between Locks 19 and 22. Narrowboats can go between the two canals - if heading from Birmingham then narrowboats can turn left just after Lock 19 and use the Lapworth Link Lock 20 and narrowboats coming from the south would turn right after Lock 22.
Just above there is a photo of the type of a lock-keeper's cottage the design of which was quite unique to the Stratford upon Avon Canal - to save money the cottages were single storey and had barrel vaulted roofs.
Edstone Aqueduct was built in the early 1800s and is the largest of a series of three cast iron (trough design) aqueducts which can be seen on the Stratford upon Avon Canal. Edstone Aqueduct takes the canal over a tributary of the River Avon and also over GWR railway lines and a road - the aqueduct is 475 feet long, supported on huge brick pillars and has the canal's towpath alongside. It's very interesting to walk across the aqueduct whilst narrowboats (and the occasional duck) are passing by more or less level with your waist.
Once you have passed under Bridge 69 (which is the lowest bridge since Lapworth) you enter the centre of the historic town
of Stratford-upon-Avon at Bancroft Basin
which marks the start (or end?) of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. The whole area
is very spacious and nicely paved and grassed - and particularly on a sunny
weekend really full of tourists (the Shakespeare bit..). The River Avon meets
the canal via Wide Lock 56 which is a double lock - from here you get excellent
views of the River which at this point is really wide - also of the lovely
Tramway Bridge. Tramway Bridge, which was built in 1823, got its name from being
part of a 16 mile long horse-drawn tramway which ran between Moreton-in-Marsh
(with a branch to Shipston-on-Stour)and the basin at Stratford-upon-Avon.
Please see our Home Page for many other items about England including 100s of English Church Photos, wildflowers, toadstools and quite a few walks to try some of which involve using canal towpaths. Also take a look towards the bottom of our Home Page where there are links to our other travel sites about The Canary Islands, Cyprus, Portugal's Algarve, The Greek Islands and Athens, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok, Bali and several other Indonesian Holiday Islands. Visit our Resources topic if you wish to Email Us and/or to see our site privacy policy.