Stratford Upon Avon Angling Association
Seven Meadows
The famous town center Seven Meadows stretch of the river Avon offers the full range of classic Avon fishing, from shallow gravel sections and weir pools to deeper runs, everyone from the town learnt to fish here, access to the water is shared with 2 other angling clubs A.D.D.A.C. and Shipston AC.
If you grew in Stratford you probably learnt to fish down the seven meadows, a BAA water back in the day today its open to members of Stratford AA, Shipston AA and A.D.D.A.C. Day tickets are also available for the Seven Meadows stretch.
The water starts immediately below the two bridges, Lucy's mill foot bridge and the road bridge, (formally the old LMS railway bridge) and runs for approximately 1.5 miles to the old Stannells railway bridge by Stratford racecourse its a great stretch of water, downstream of the busy town center and the theatre, it offers varied fishing with something for everyone !
At the start of the stretch, immediately below the two bridges is sausage island, non navigable to boats on the right hand bank its canal like to fish, full members can park right by the river and If the river is up this is a nice backwater as are the swims immediately down stream from the island where slack water on the inside line and gravel bottoms offer interesting possibilities, carp have been caught in increasing in numbers around the island and the 1st meadow, decent Bream can be found in the swims below sausage island and the gravel bottom means Barbel so don't be fooled into just heading below the wier they are all along this stretch. !
Sausage Island immediately below the seven meadows road bridge.
The fact that’s its less of a walk means the first meadow gets fished a bit more than the other meadows and the pegs are nicely accessible, there is a large marina recently developed on the far bank with a bridge spanning the access which has increased foot and boat traffic but the fish really don't mind !
Walking a little further you are opposite the lock cutting which gives some great opportunities on the feeder and waggler, the pegs above the weir have cracking reed beds on the far bank where good chub can be found,
The Weir is a typical Avon barbel and chub haunt with decent fish on offer, in the swim immediately below the weir there is a built up concrete platform which is a great place to throw a lead out, its gravel but the bottom is unpredictable with a few holes all the way across where the outfalls are, there are some big snags too.
The river shallows up quickly once you’re out the weir pool, its waist deep and you will be able to see the bottom in summer when this area gets absolutely caned. As always meat, halibut pellet in solid bags or meat in the shallower stretch as the river narrows is a good tactic for the larger fish.
Immediately below the weir there is the fast shallow run off flowing into a large piece of slack water (referred to as as the stink hole due to the sewage outlet) which accommodates the lock, you can fish with a mate here as there is enough space for 2 anglers and there is definitely a barbel opportunity on the feeder over in the slack water against the far bank and down the blend line.
Moving on its pretty much classic river Avon where stick, waggler, feeder methods will serve you well.
Walking a bit further into meadows 4-7 the river is quite consistent with a wealth of far bank cover and good stick float / pole lines on most pegs its tempting to fish both but fishing the waggler with sweetcorn has provided this angler with some spectacular hauls of chub from the pegs near the end of the meadows (pegs 25 onwards) while helping get through the nuisance fish you get using maggot and caster.
The seven meadows ends at the old Stannells railway bridge which is the beginning of the Stannells stretch if your fishing the far end of the seven meadows and you are a Stratford AA member you can also park at the Stannells in the corner of the meadow and walk upstream to the water.
Directions & Parking
There are a number of parking options if your fishing the seven meadows, you could park at the Greenway car park (pay & display - postcode (CV37 6GR) and walk down the path to the water, there are also residential streets close to the Greenway which you may be able to use if you don't mind walking a little further but the good news is that if you are a full Stratford member and look 20 yards up the road from the greenway car park entrance there is a farmers gate with a sign that says 'The Otters', you can go through the gate and drive immediately left down the edge of the farmers field to the water, parking up at the beginning of the stretch but only in dry conditions.
If you want to fish the last couple of meadows and your a full Stratford AA member it might be worth parking at the Stannells and going down muddy lane and through the gates onto the corner of the meadow close to Stannells bridge instead as its less of a walk and free !
Non Fishy Facts
Stratford Upon Avon - the name is a combination of the Old English strǣt in Latin, which means 'street', ford, meaning (a shallow part of a river) enabling it to be crossed and Avon which is the celtic word for river.
The new Shakespeare marina is has been built on the opposite bank to the seven meadows, its actually been planned since 1972 but work only started in 2021, it is is a huge development allowing 250 boats to birth, future plans for the site includes shops and a bistro / restaurant.
In the early 1870s, Charles Flower gave several acres of riverside land to the local council on the understanding that a permanent theatre be built in honour of Shakespeare's memory, and by 1879 the first Shakespeare Memorial Theatre had been completed
Holy Trinity Church is where Shakespeare was baptised and is buried, altough his torso is buried in the church just 1 metre deep but the head is missing, there are all sorts of local stories about where it went, the most common is it was stolen in 1879 and hidden in a church in Beoly, worcestershire though no one really knows.
There has been a footbridge at Lucys mill since 1590, originally a packhorse bridge made of wood, the present bridge was built in 1934.
Ther original Lucys Mill, derelict in the sixties was pulled down in the seventies to make way for the gorgeous block of flats you see today !
There is evidence of the mill existing in Anglo-Saxon times although the wiers and the sluice did not make an appearance until the 1700s
At the Greenway car park you can get a decent cup of coffee and food from the cafe converted from an old railway carriage this is a few hundred yards from the river, there is another one of these carriages at the halfway point of the greenway near Milcote / Clifford Chambers.