Planning Avon trip this July - Help?

[northern eye]

Hey guys - this is quite an open question so all help appreciated.
I am planning a short break for me and the wife this summer and want to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and incorperate a days fishing on the famous river Avon. She's happy for me to do this as long as she has something to do whilst I'm out on the bank. I will be targetting barbel but also general course fishing. I have been looking at Stratford upon Avon as a place to stay but any other ideas would be great.
Obviously its a big river so I am looking for info on some key areas where I can fish and then I can look at places to stay nearby so hidden, hard to reach stretches will be no good for a day session. Preferably, the chosen stretch would be nearby tourist attactions/city/town so the wife has things to do whilst I am out fishing for the day. Also, any good hotels or cottages you know about nearby would be a bonus. Hope you can help. Cheers!

[BoldBear]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn which is right next to the river right in the centre of the town 'Stratford upon Avon'. so the wife can shop and see the sights until she drops.

It is fairly reasonably priced too, plus a lot of the rooms overlook the river.

We have also stayed in static caravans right on the banks of the river about half a mile from the town centre.

Have a look at < this web site > for hotel accomodation in town.

There are also a few sites with Chalets and Static caravan sites situated at the edge of the river; just on the edge of town with bank space for fishing.

I don't know any of the best places to fish for Barbel so someone else can help you there; but I caught some decent sized Chub in the warwickshire Avon; in and around the town stretch.

[northern eye]

Fantastic. Barbel not a neccesity, just can't seem to bag one of the buggers up north for love nor money so thought I may have better chances travelling further south this year. To keep our lass happy, I had to cunningly disguise my quest as a long weekend break for both of us. Sneaky.
A nice chub or other species will do for me though. I have been itching to fish the Avon for years so I will be happy simply to be on the bank of this famous river whilst the wife empties the bank account at the shops. That caravan site looks good too. Thanks Keith.

[barisaxman]

There's loads of day ticket on the Avon around Stratford. Have a look on the Birmingham Anglers website (sorry I haven't got the skills to link you!) You can get permits from many local dealers, £6 a day. Mind you, its only £32 for a full permit. I haven't fished the Avon for years and its changed a bit from my day, plenty of weir pools now. I cut my teeth fishing the Park water in Stratford catching roach, dace, chub and gudgeon. No barbel in those days tho!
There are a few videos on the Shakespeare site that feature James Robbins fishing on the Avon. Ones stick float fishing around Barford and there's a couple of him fishing in the park at Stratford. Google it and you should find them. I hope this is of some use to you.

[northern eye]

Thanks Barisaxman. Shall take a look this evening. Brilliant info!!