RoutesRunning trails & routesUnited KingdomEnglandWest Midlands RegionWarwickshireStratford-On-AvonStratford Upon Avon
Stratford Greenway – Shakespeare's Birthplace loop from Stratford-upon-Avon
RoutesRunning trails & routesUnited KingdomEnglandWest Midlands RegionWarwickshireStratford-On-AvonStratford Upon Avon
Stratford Greenway – Shakespeare's Birthplace loop from Stratford-upon-Avon
Moderate
3.0
(2)
167
runners
Stratford Greenway – Shakespeare's Birthplace loop from Stratford-upon-Avon
01:15
12.1km
50m
Running
Moderate run. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: May 27, 2026
Waypoints
A
Start point
Train Station
Get Directions
1
3.68 km
Stratford Greenway
Highlight • Cycleway
An 8km flat smooth gravel path. Share with runners and dog-walkers in the morning and evening. Best at crack of dawn when mist is rising over the race course and the river meadows. Can also cut down to a riverside path.
Tip by
2
5.06 km
Stratford Greenway: Stratford-upon-Avon to Milcote Car Park
Highlight • Trail
The Stratford Greenway follows the course of part of the Honeybourne Line, a single track railway built in 1859 by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and closed in 1976. Now a trail for walkers and cyclists, the route links the attractive town of Stratford-upon-Avon with the village of Long Marston.
The route is signed southwards from the railway station at Stratford-upon-Avon, and the railway path begins near the racecourse at Seven Meadows Road. If you keep quiet, you may hear the song of the skylarks which nest here. You will cross the Avon using the multispan Stannals Bridge, and then cross the Stour. The route continues through peaceful countryside to the village of Long Marston. The path has become a refuge for wild plants and animals as intensive farming practices drive them out of the surrounding fields, and as well as fruit and walnut trees, you may spot cowslips, knapweed, wild carrot and tansy.
The route is signed southwards from the railway station at Stratford-upon-Avon, and the railway path begins near the racecourse at Seven Meadows Road. If you keep quiet, you may hear the song of the skylarks which nest here. You will cross the Avon using the multispan Stannals Bridge, and then cross the Stour. The route continues through peaceful countryside to the village of Long Marston. The path has become a refuge for wild plants and animals as intensive farming practices drive them out of the surrounding fields, and as well as fruit and walnut trees, you may spot cowslips, knapweed, wild carrot and tansy.
Tip by
3
5.13 km
Milcote Carriage Café
Highlight • Cafe
Quirky converted train carriage that's a great little cafe. Well placed on the Stratford-upon-Avon Greenway just outside Stratford. Closed on Mondays but open 9am to 4pm every other day.
Tip by
4
10.4 km
Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm
Highlight • Structure
I've been to the Farm many times and it's amazing to see all the different types of butterfly the are beautiful
Tip by
5
10.6 km
Tramway Bridge, Stratford-upon-Avon
Highlight • River
On August Bank Holiday Monday, 1874, despite a “dull threatening sky”, many Stratfordians and visitors flooded down to the Avon to watch a Regatta, the first to be held in Stratford, and organised by Stratford Cricket Club. The programme was comprehensive: it included a cricket match on the field by the Tram Bridge, a military band, and refreshments marquees by the river. The regatta programme included two pairs events, a sculling event, and a canoe race; it was not an open regatta, and all the competitors seem to have been local oarsmen. The success of the regatta fired the enthusiasm of a number of young men, and a week later, on Monday the 10th of August, 1874, they met at the “Falcon” to establish Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club.
The first committee was Edwin Lockyer Curry (the first captain), J. New (Hon. Secretary), Charles Loggin (Hon. Treasurer), G. Stephenson, George Martin Bird, W. A. Samman, F. A. Lane, J. Butcher and E. Pardoe. A deputation waited on Mr. Arthur Hodgson at Clopton and persuaded him to become the club’s first president, against the advice of the Vicar, the Rev. John Day Collis, who prognosticated gloomily, “Look here, friend, your club will only last three years. No club in Stratford lasts longer than that”.
The Club’s own regatta, held each August Bank Holiday Monday, quickly settled into a pattern: this was the era of the bicycling craze, and for a number of years the Stratford Bicycle Club co-operated with the Boat Club in arranging cycling and athletics events, though there was sometimes trouble with professionals who tried to enter amateur events. There were also events such a pony races, tub races and greasy pole competitions. The early regattas were closed events, but the first open event – won by an Evesham R.C. four – was introduced in 1980, and other open events for fours, pairs and scull followed.
A professional waterman, Rowall of Newcastle-on-Tyne, was engaged to coach the Club’s crews in 1879, at a salary of £2 per week, and the following year another Tynesider, Stephen Renforth, was engaged as a professional coach. The 1880 regatta was the only one to offer a professional scullers’ event, put in, one suspects, as a soft option for Renforth to add to his wages – though no other professionals entered, and the event was not sculled.
The 1880s saw the first great period of Stratford rowing. A Senior Four had been boated in 1879, and a Junior Four won at Tewkesbury that year. Another Junior Four won at Stratford in 1881, and by 1882 the Club had a number of experienced oarsmen and a Senior Four was formed – A. Callaway, W. S. Davies, H. White, and Tim Coles – which won at Twekesbury and Stratford. In 1883, Tom Birch came into the crew at bow, and J. B. Stack deputised at 2 when needed, the crew winning at Stratford, Worcester and Bewdley.
The first committee was Edwin Lockyer Curry (the first captain), J. New (Hon. Secretary), Charles Loggin (Hon. Treasurer), G. Stephenson, George Martin Bird, W. A. Samman, F. A. Lane, J. Butcher and E. Pardoe. A deputation waited on Mr. Arthur Hodgson at Clopton and persuaded him to become the club’s first president, against the advice of the Vicar, the Rev. John Day Collis, who prognosticated gloomily, “Look here, friend, your club will only last three years. No club in Stratford lasts longer than that”.
The Club’s own regatta, held each August Bank Holiday Monday, quickly settled into a pattern: this was the era of the bicycling craze, and for a number of years the Stratford Bicycle Club co-operated with the Boat Club in arranging cycling and athletics events, though there was sometimes trouble with professionals who tried to enter amateur events. There were also events such a pony races, tub races and greasy pole competitions. The early regattas were closed events, but the first open event – won by an Evesham R.C. four – was introduced in 1980, and other open events for fours, pairs and scull followed.
A professional waterman, Rowall of Newcastle-on-Tyne, was engaged to coach the Club’s crews in 1879, at a salary of £2 per week, and the following year another Tynesider, Stephen Renforth, was engaged as a professional coach. The 1880 regatta was the only one to offer a professional scullers’ event, put in, one suspects, as a soft option for Renforth to add to his wages – though no other professionals entered, and the event was not sculled.
The 1880s saw the first great period of Stratford rowing. A Senior Four had been boated in 1879, and a Junior Four won at Tewkesbury that year. Another Junior Four won at Stratford in 1881, and by 1882 the Club had a number of experienced oarsmen and a Senior Four was formed – A. Callaway, W. S. Davies, H. White, and Tim Coles – which won at Twekesbury and Stratford. In 1883, Tom Birch came into the crew at bow, and J. B. Stack deputised at 2 when needed, the crew winning at Stratford, Worcester and Bewdley.
Tip by
6
10.7 km
Bancroft Basin, Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
Highlight • Rest Area
From here it is 'just' 185 locks to get to London ;-)
Tip by
7
10.9 km
Bancroft Basin
Highlight • River
8
11.3 km
Shakespeare's Birthplace
Highlight • Historical Site
Beautiful and well preserved half-timbered building, you will not find many in similar style and quality around. Even if you do not enter the museum it is worth a detour to have a view.
Tip by
B
12.1 km
End point
Train Station
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
6.00 km
4.07 km
1.44 km
511 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
4.99 km
3.51 km
3.14 km
405 m
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Sunday 5 July
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