Editing Stratford-upon-Avon (section)

==Transport==
<!--"Stratford-upon-Avon chain ferry" redirects to this section-->

===Road===
Stratford is {{convert|22|mi|0|abbr=out}} from the [[United Kingdom]]'s second largest city, [[Birmingham]], and is easily accessible from junction 15 of the [[M40 motorway]]. The [[A46 road]] links Stratford with the M40, [[Warwick]] and [[Coventry]] to the north-east, and [[Evesham]] and [[Ashchurch]] to the south-west, where it joins the [[M5 motorway]].

===Buses===
Bus services are provided predominantly by [[Stagecoach in Warwickshire]] (formerly Midland Red South) and [[Diamond West Midlands]]. Routes connect the town with local destinations including Banbury, Coventry, Evesham, Leamington and Redditch.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stratford-upon-Avon Bus Services|work=Bus Times|date=2023|access-date=10 December 2023|url=https://bustimes.org/localities/stratford-upon-avon}}</ref>

===Railway===
[[File:Stratford-upon-Avon_railway_station,_June_2022.jpg|thumb|right|Stratford-upon-Avon railway station]]
Stratford now has two [[railway stations]]: {{rws|Stratford-upon-Avon}} is the main town centre station and {{rws|Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway}} lies on the town's north-western outskirts, with [[park and ride]] facilities.

Both stations are served by the following [[train operating companies]]:
* [[West Midlands Trains]] provides services to {{rws|Solihull}}, Birmingham ([[Birmingham Snow Hill railway station|Snow Hill]] and [[Birmingham Moor Street railway station|Moor Street]]), {{rws|Kidderminster}} and {{rws|Worcester Foregate Street}}.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Train timetables and schedules|work=West Midlands Railway|date=10 December 2023|access-date=10 December 2023|url=https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/travel-information/journey-planning/timetables}}</ref>
* [[Chiltern Railways]] operates a route to {{rws|Warwick}} and {{rws|Leamington Spa}}; some direct trains travel daily to/from [[Marylebone railway station|London Marylebone]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Download our timetables|work=Chiltern Railways|date=10 December 2023|access-date=10 December 2023|url=https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/before-you-travel/download-our-timetable}}</ref>

Stratford station is now the southern terminus of two branch lines from Birmingham and {{rws|Hatton|England}}; up to 1976, the line formerly continued south of the town to join the [[Cotswold Line]] at {{rws|Honeybourne}}, until this link was closed and dismantled.<ref name="GWRa">{{cite web|title=The Restoration & Archiving Trust Stratford Branch|url=https://www.gwrarchive.org/site/sitel2pg/uk/gwr/strat/strat.php|publisher=GWR archive|access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref> 
There has been a campaign in recent years to restore the Honeybourne link, which would entail rebuilding {{convert|6|mile}} of track.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stratford to Honeybourne|url=https://www.shakespeareline.com/stratford-to-honeybourne-2/|newspaper=Shakespeare Line Promotion Group|access-date=24 March 2022}}</ref>

Stratford-upon-Avon's railway service has been criticised by the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] and others for its limited direct services to [[London]], which consists of a handful of daily direct trains, with connections available from Leamington Spa. In 2018, the RSC described the services to the station as "woefully inadequate" for an international tourist destination.<ref>{{Cite web|title=RSC urges GWR to provide Stratford improvements|url=https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/rsc-urges-gwr-to-provide-stratford-improvements|access-date=2019-07-18|website=railmagazine.com}}</ref>

Until 1952, the town was also served by [[Stratford Old Town railway station]] of the former [[Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Warwickshire Railways|url=http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/stratfordmidland.htm|website=Warwickshirerailways.com}}</ref>

===Water===
[[File:Stratford boat cruise 7975.jpg|thumb|A boat tour of the Avon in a converted barge]]
Several companies offer sightseeing cruises along the [[River Avon, Warwickshire|river Avon]] and the [[canal]], some using old river [[barge]]s that have been converted for this use.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitstratforduponavon.co.uk/attractions/boat-trips-on-the-river|title=Boat Trips on the River|website=Visitstratforduponavon.co.uk|access-date=31 December 2018}}</ref> The town is the terminus of the [[Stratford-upon-Avon Canal]] where it meets the river Avon.

The manually-powered [[Stratford-upon-Avon chain ferry]] was opened in 1937 and links Waterside, roughly halfway between the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]] and [[Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon|Holy Trinity Church]], with the water [[meadow]]s on the opposite side of the river. It was the last of its kind to be built in Britain.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=6 June 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jun/06/shakespeare-stratford-warwickshire-walking-guide|title=Shakespeare's Stratford, Warwickshire}}</ref>

===Cycling===
The town has numerous [[cycle path]]s, such as the Stratford greenway, a {{convert|5|mi|km}} traffic free cycle path, which used to be part of the rail network until the early 1960s; it is now part of the [[Sustrans]] [[National Cycle Network]] (routes [[National Cycle Route 5]] and National Cycle Route 41). Starting from town, it heads along the [[River Avon, Warwickshire|river Avon]] and [[racecourse]] towards [[Welford-on-Avon]] and [[Long Marston, Warwickshire|Long Marston]] with a cycle hire and [[café]] available at the start of the Greenway at Seven [[Meadow]]s Road.<ref name="Greenway">{{cite web|title=Stratford Greenway – Warwickshire Country Parks|url=http://countryparks.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenways/stratford-greenway/|website=countryparks.warwickshire.gov.uk|access-date=13 November 2016|archive-date=24 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224102812/http://countryparks.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenways/stratford-greenway/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Air===
[[Birmingham Airport]] is {{convert|18|mi|km}} to the north-west, with scheduled flights to many national and international destinations.