Some 440 yards (400 m) of the canal near Buckingham are now holding water, but the main focus in 2020 was at the Cosgrove end, where a restored channel would be accessible by boat from the Grand Union.

The plans were changed when it was decided to construct a high level crossing of the Great Ouse, ruling out the possibility of a junction, and so the arm left the main line just above Cosgrove lock, following the north side of the Great Ouse valley, and resulted in a canal which was on one level for most of its length, with just two locks as it approached Buckingham.

[1] The Grand Junction Canal, which included the two flights of locks to cross the River Great Ouse, opened in August 1800, and the Old Stratford arm followed six weeks later, in September.

Trade continued to reduce, with the Grand Junction company resorting to legal action to prevent the dumping of sewage into the canal in 1890, but Bradshaw's Guide of 1904 lists the upper section as "barely navigable".

The overall arm is closed, with the exception of a short stretch of about 200 metres running westwards from the junction with the Grand Union Canal at Cosgrove towards the A5 dual carriageway and a 400-metre section at Buckingham which was restored in 2013.

In 2008, the structure of Hyde Lane lock was refurbished, following a grant of £38,000 from Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN) towards the £44,000 cost of the project.

While it identified a number of significant issues, including the crossings of the A5 road at Old Stratford and the A413 ringroad at Buckingham, it concluded that reinstatement was feasible, and would bring economic, environmental and social benefits to the area.

[14] One interesting aspect of the project is that the original Act of Parliament, granted in 1794, was not repealed when the canal was abandoned, and therefore its powers still apply.

[15] Plans for restoration include the construction of a 3-mile (4.8 km) bypass around Old Stratford and Deanshanger, starting with a short, steep section from near the A5 bridge to the River Great Ouse some 33 feet (10 m) lower.

It would then divert from the river and ascend back to its original level, passing through the site of Passenham Quarry, to rejoin the former course at Mount Hill, close to where the A422 road severed the Buckingham Arm.

[16] A further detour will be required at Leckhampstead Wharf, where buildings occupy the line of the canal, and at Bourton Lock, which lies beneath the foundations of a modern house.

[17] Following a grant of £7,000 from the Aylesbury Vale Community Chest, which unlocked a further £70,000 from the Landfill tax administered by Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN), work began in January 2013 on the relining, restoration and rewatering of a 425-yard (389 m) section of the canal at Bourton Meadow, close to Buckingham.

A ceremonial first sod was cut on 25 January by Lord Boswell of Aynho and John Bercow, the local MP and Speaker of the House of Commons.

The stop planks beneath the bridge were removed by a recently-acquired dredger named Diana, the purchase of which was funded by Tim Coghlan, the owner of Braunston Marina.