Stratford to Shottery via Canal, River and Tramway

Richard Dodd

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A circular, moderate walk taking in Shottery and the historic town of Stratford (you can combine with our historic town trail 4790 for a great, longer walk).

The walk goes from Anne Hathaway's Cottage in the village of Shottery, past a children's play park, along the wonderful canalside (feed the ducks and see beautiful swans nesting and with their young at the right time of year, plus admire the boats passing by) to the most visited town outside London – Stratford-upon-Avon (so many places to picnic or eat, cafes, restaurants, pubs!) The town centre also has great shopping, places to visit, history, some of the most beautiful architecture, monuments, theatre, a historic ferry) and then back via a different route, passing a butterfly visitor centre, along a disused tramway converted for walking, greenery, a river (more swans to admire), history and back along paths (admire the Victorian cottages, new builds and historic cottages en route) to your starting point.

This walk really has everything: children's play park, canal, places to have coffee or food, museums, shops, wildlife (bring your buttered bread for the ducks, birds and swans, especially during cold months!), river, history in abundance, architecture (from old to new) and Shakespeare, from his wife's family home to his own.

England - Central England - Warwickshire - Countryside

Features

Cafe, Church, Food Shop, Gift Shop, Mostly Flat, Museum, Play Area, Public Transport, Restaurant, River, Tea Shop, Toilets

10/17/2021 - Iain Forsyth

We did the first part of this walk on a sunny October Saturday to take in Anne Hathaway's Cottage before joining the historic town trail 4790. The first disappointment was that the cottage was closed for the winter. So we set off on the walk to find that points 1 to 9 take you through, housing estates, along busy roads and then to a business park before you join the canal. There is a more direct and well-signposted path from the cottage to the town centre - I'd recommend using that.

2/25/2020 - Heather Lawrence

This is a lovely walk. Just a couple of things that I found in the instructions. Point 25: the yellow striped barriers are in Luddington Road right next to the entrance to Stratford Racecourse (not Paddock Lane). Point 26/27 when emerging into Hogarth Road the footpath refers to the pavement rather than a footpath alongside the stream. You need to follow Hogarth Road to the end past Boucher Close. There is a nursery school to the left, keep going. The route looks like it's the entrance to the primary school, but does in fact go straight past and into Hathaway Lane.

4/10/2017 - Stephen Jordan

This is an excellent walk for exploring Stratford. The directions are very clear.