Stratford-on-Avon Canal (Northern Section)

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 72 feet long and 7 feet wide. The maximum headroom is 6 feet and 6 inches. The maximum draught is not known.
It has a junction with the Stratford-on-Avon Canal (Kingswood Branch) at Kingswood Junction (north).
Notable features of the waterway include Brandwood Tunnel, Lapworth Locks (upper) and Lapworth Locks (middle)
Relevant publications — Waterway Travels:
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Waterway Routes 90M - Avon Ring Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 45M - Stratford uopn Avon Canal Map (Downloadable)
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
- Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides No 2 - Severn, Avon & Birmingham
- Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides No 3 - Birmingham & the Heart of England
- Pearsons Canal Companion: South Midlands and Warwickshire Ring & Ashby and Connecting Canals
- Pearson's Canal Companion: Severn & Avon: Mid-Worcestershire Ring and Cotswold Canals (Saul-Sapperton)
- Heron Maps: Avon Ring and Droitwich Ring
Kingswood Junction (south) | |||
Lapworth Lock No 21 Between the two branches to Kingswood Junction |
½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
Kingswood Junction (north) | ¾ furlongs | 1 lock | |
Lapworth Lock No 19 | 1 furlong | 1 lock | |
Old Warwick Road Bridge No 35 | 1½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 18 | 1½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 17 | 2 furlongs | 3 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 16 | 2½ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 15 | 2¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Bird in Hand Bridge No 34 | 3¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Lapworth Village moorings | 3½ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Lapworth Pipe Bridge | 4¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Lapworth Turnover Bridge No 33 | 4¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 14 Bottom lock of Lapworth Flight |
4½ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Briar Cottage Moorings Canal Shop & CafĂ© | 4½ furlongs | 7 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 13 | 4¾ furlongs | 7 locks | |
Lapworth Wharf | 5 furlongs | 8 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 12 | 5 furlongs | 8 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 11 | 5½ furlongs | 9 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 10 | 5¾ furlongs | 10 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 9 | 6¼ furlongs | 11 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 8 | 6½ furlongs | 12 locks | |
Lapworth Turnover Bridge No 32 | 6¾ furlongs | 13 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 7 | 6¾ furlongs | 13 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 6 Top lock of the "thick" of the Lapworth Flight |
7¼ furlongs | 14 locks | |
Pinners Bridge No 31 | 1 mile and ¾ furlongs | 15 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 5 | 1 mile and 2½ furlongs | 15 locks | |
Lapworth Cricket Club Bridge No 30 | 1 mile and 3 furlongs | 16 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 4 | 1 mile and 3¼ furlongs | 16 locks | |
Lapworth Lock No 3 | 1 mile and 4¾ furlongs | 17 locks | |
Church Lane Bridge No 29 | 1 mile and 5½ furlongs | 18 locks | |
Lapworth Top Lock No 2 | 1 mile and 5¾ furlongs | 18 locks | |
Drawbridge Farm Drawbridge No 28 Also known as Drawbridge Farm Lift Bridge No 28 |
1 mile and 7½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Wharf Lane Bridge Winding Hole | 2 miles and 1½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Wharf Lane Bridge No 27 | 2 miles and 1½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Swallow Wharf Home of Swallow Cruisers |
2 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Sand Farm Drawbridge No 26 Also known as Hockley Heath Drawbridge |
2 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Hockley Heath Bridge No 25 | 2 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
The Wharf Tavern (Hockley Heath) | 2 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Hockley Heath Wharf | 2 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Big Spring Coppice Bridge No 24 | 3 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Ashford Lane Bridge No 23 | 3 miles and 4½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Rotherham's Oak Winding Hole | 3 miles and 7½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Rotherham's Oak Bridge No 22 | 3 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Tinkers Lane Bridge No 21 | 4 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
M42 Motorway Bridge | 4 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Dyers Lane Bridge No 20 | 4 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Blue Bell Cider House | 4 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Blue Bell Bridge No 19 | 4 miles and 7 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Waring's Green Wharf | 4 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Waring's Green Bridge No 18 | 5 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Salter Street Bridge No 17 | 5 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Earlswood Reservoir Pipe Bridge | 5 miles and 4½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Earlswood Reservoir Narrows No 2 | 5 miles and 5¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Earlswood Reservoir Narrows | 5 miles and 7 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Earlswood Reservoir Feeder Earlswood Motor Yacht Club moorings (arm is 400yds long) |
5 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Lady Lane Bridge No 16 | 5 miles and 7½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Braggs Farm Bridge No 15 | 6 miles and 2 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Dickens Heath Village Arm Not navigable |
6 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Dickens Heath Village Footbridge No 14 | 6 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Site of Dickens' Heath Farm Drawbridge | 6 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Jerrings Hall Farm Footbridge No 13 | 7 miles | 19 locks | |
Three Maypoles Bridge No 12 | 7 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Tythe Barn Lane Bridge No 11 | 7 miles and 2½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Site of Three May Poles Wharf | 7 miles and 2½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Whitlocks End Farm Bridge No 10 | 7 miles and 4½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Tyburn Farm Winding Hole | 7 miles and 6½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Dicken's Heath Narrows | 7 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Whitlocks End Railway Bridge | 7 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Haslucks Green Road Bridge No 9 | 8 miles and ½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Drawbridge Inn | 8 miles and 2 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Shirley Drawbridge No 8 | 8 miles and 2 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Major's Green Aqueduct | 8 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Peterbrook Rise Narrows | 8 miles and 5 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Solihull Lodge High Street Bridge No 7 | 8 miles and 7 furlongs | 19 locks | |
School Road Bridge No 6 | 9 miles and 5 furlongs | 19 locks | |
School Road Pipes Bridge | 9 miles and 5 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Yardley Wood Road Bridge No 5 | 9 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Yardley Wood Visitor Moorings | 10 miles | 19 locks | |
Yardley Wood Winding Hole Not an officially listed winding hole |
10 miles | 19 locks | |
Yardley Wood Water Point | 10 miles and ¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Yardley Wood Pipe Bridge | 10 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Warstock Lane Bridge No 4 | 10 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Lyons Boatyard | 10 miles and 4¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Limekiln Arm Side arm by the pub |
10 miles and 5¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
The Horseshoe PH | 10 miles and 5½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Limekiln Lane Bridge No 3 | 10 miles and 5½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Millpool Hill Pipe Bridge | 10 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Brandwood Tunnel (eastern entrance) | 11 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Brandwood Tunnel (western entrance) | 11 miles and 5½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Brandwood Pipe Bridge | 11 miles and 6 furlongs | 19 locks | |
Site of King's Norton Swing Bridge No 2 Dismantled. |
12 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 19 locks | |
King's Norton Stop Lock No 1 A unique, guillotine gated, stop lock normally left open |
12 miles and 3½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
Broad Meadow Lane Bridge No 1 | 12 miles and 3½ furlongs | 19 locks | |
King's Norton Junction Junction of Stratford and Worcester and Birmingham Canals |
12 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 19 locks |
- Lady Lane Wharf | Waterpride Estates — associated with Earlswood Reservoir Feeder
- The Earkswood Resevoir feeder moorings and associated facilities and services at Lady Lane Wharf
- The Drawbridge Inn Pub Restaurant in Shirley Solihull — associated with Drawbridge Inn
- Drawbridge Inn pub in Shirley. Live sport, food and drinks.
- Warings Green Wharf - Moorings in Solihull at Warings Green Wharf — associated with Waring's Green Wharf
- Welcome to Warings Green Wharf, on the North Stratford near Solihull
Wikipedia has a page about Stratford-on-Avon Canal
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England. The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for 25.5 miles (41.0 km) in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal. Following acquisition by a railway company in 1856, it gradually declined, the southern section being un-navigable by 1945, and the northern section little better.
The northern section was the setting for a high-profile campaign by the fledgling Inland Waterways Association in 1947, involving the right of navigation under Tunnel Lane bridge, which required the Great Western Railway to jack it up in order to allow boats to pass. These actions saved the section from closure. The southern section was restored by the National Trust between 1961 and 1964, after an attempt to close it was thwarted. The revived canal was re-opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and responsibility for it was transferred to British Waterways in 1988.