Oh! What a great job has been done in restoring the two Droitwich canals and what a joy it is to visit and navigate them whether as a boater, walker or biker.

Running from Hanbury Junction in the East – its junction with the Worcester and Birmingham – the Junction canal stretches 1.43 miles to hand over water to the Barge Canal in Vines Park, Droitwich.

Locks 1-3 in the East are original, though restored, and locks 4-6 are new on a rerouted canal, the old one having disappeared under farm buildings.

Lock 7 is also new and creates a confluence with the River Salwarpe, the resulting waterway is then used as a canal to navigate down to Vines Park.

In Vines park the River Salwarpe relinquishes its role as a canal via a weir and veers of to the North while the Barge canal takes over the navigation through its Lock 1.

The new route and locks are well crafted and since its completion in early 2010 has started to mature well with nature. Given a couple more years and gentle nurturing, the route from Lock 3 to the M5 will be memorable, indeed!

This canal is so well worth a visit on its own, but contributes so well to the route of the newly created Mid Worcester Ring.

Here is a slideshow of the route drawn in grey from East to West of the canal, and below a Google Maps view  – unfortunately satellite-scanned before the canal was fully restored.

See also Droitwich Canals Trust Open Day 2010.

View Mid Worcestershire Ring Overview in a larger map