Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

Quick Facts

• Length: 46 miles
• Locks: 43
• Connects: Great Haywood Junction (Trent & Mersey Canal) → Wolverhampton (Autherley Junction with the Shropshire Union, Aldersley Junction with the BCN) → Stourport-on-Severn (junction with the River Severn)
• Build period & engineer: opened 1772, engineered by James Brindley — one of his original "Grand Cross" canals connecting the four great rivers (Trent, Mersey, Severn, Thames)
• Boat dimensions: 72 ft long by 7 ft beam (narrow)
• Typical cruise time: 4–5 days end-to-end Great Haywood to Stourport

What's it like to cruise?

A handsome, varied, twisting Brindley contour canal — one of the prettiest narrow canals on the network. Sandstone cuttings, characterful villages, distinctive Brindley locks (round-cornered, with single-bottom-gate paddles), and the dramatic descent into Stourport via the basin staircase. Some of the best canal architecture in Britain — including the unique Bratch flight and the Stourport basin complex. Mostly rural and very quiet outside the school holidays.

Highlights along the route

• Stourport-on-Severn Basins — Brindley's two-tier interconnected basins where the canal meets the Severn, dropping through narrow staircase locks.
• The Bratch Locks — three locks at Wombourne, originally built as a staircase but with tiny intermediate pounds and side ponds, requiring careful sequencing.
• Botterham Locks — a true two-rise staircase.
• Tixall Wide — a famously broad section near Great Haywood, almost a small lake, with views to Tixall Gatehouse.
• Kinver — a pretty village with the National Trust's Kinver Edge close to the canal.
• Compton — site of the first narrow lock ever built (1766), believed to be Brindley's prototype.

Connections & cruising rings

Joins the T&M at Great Haywood, the Shropshire Union at Autherley, the BCN at Aldersley and the Severn at Stourport. Forms the Stourport Ring (Staffs & Worcs + BCN + Worcester & Birmingham + Severn) and the Four Counties Ring (Staffs & Worcs + Shroppie + T&M).

Suitable for

Excellent for intermediate boaters and a good progression from a beginner-only canal. The Bratch is the only really tricky bit and is well-staffed by CRT volunteers in season.

Practicalities

• Stoppages: minor seasonal works.
• Water and elsan: Great Haywood, Penkridge, Autherley, Compton, Wombourne, Stourport.
• Mobile signal: good in most of the route.
• Pump-out: at the marinas — Great Haywood, Penkridge, Autherley, Stourport.

Best time to cruise

April to October. The sandstone cuttings and rural Staffordshire scenery are at their best in early summer. The Bratch is best done outside the August holiday peak.