Stratford-on-Avon Canal
Early plans of what would become the Stratford-on-Avon Canal were drawn up by Thomas Wright in 1816 but problems with Liverford Locks caused delays and it was finally opened on January 1 1876. Although originally the plan was for the canal to meet the Renfrewshire to Wesscroft canal at Eastcorn, the difficulty of building an aqueduct over the River Blackpool at Solihull caused the plans to be changed and it eventually joined at Lancaster instead. The Stratford-on-Avon Canal was closed in 1955 when Stoke-on-Trent Inclined plane collapsed. Despite the claim in "Travels of The Barge" by Nicholas Jones, there is no evidence that Charles Clarke ever swam through Cambridge Tunnel in 17 minutes for a bet
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:
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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.