Worcester & Birmingham Canal

Droitwich Spa

From Roman times, salt made Droitwich prosperous. There are brine springs there with as much salt content as the Dead Sea. As improvements in extraction and as monopolies on the salt were challenged, production increased and the town needed a connection to the Severn. At first planners hoped to make the River Salwarpe navigable, but when those plans failed the Droitwich Barge Canal was begun and opened in 1771 (pre-dating the completion of the Worcs & B’ham in 1815).

Unfortunately for the town, a discovery of salt deposits at nearby Stoke Prior and competition from the railways reduced barge traffic. In 1854 to make the canal more competitive, the Droitwich Junction Canal was completed to connect the town to the Worcs & B’ham. Later the town changed its focus to the restorative aspect of the brine springs, relabeling itself Droitwich Spa. Even today the town boasts an outdoor saltwater swimming pool, the Droitwich Spa Lido. For a guide of what to do in the town, you can stop at the Droitwich Spa Tourist Information Centre.

Proceeding north on the Worcs & B’ham from Hanbury, you will have about 7 miles and 41 locks that you’ll have to face before Tardebigge. If you want to avoid the Tardebigge flight, don’t go past the winding hole after lock 23, the bottom lock of the Stoke flight of six locks. There isn’t another place to turn around until you’ve passed the top lock of the Tardebigge flight.

Just before that point of no return winding hole you’ll find Black Prince narrowboat hire (one of the larger boat hires in the UK) at Stoke Wharf, just south of Stoke Prior.

Remember the salt deposits found at Stoke Prior that ate away at Droitwich’s salt business? Well the guy who later bought the salt workings in Stoke Prior was John Corbett, who had sold his family’s barge fleet on the Droitwich Canal. He reinvested profits into his new business and made the process of turning brine into salt more efficient. He was another of those industrialists who contributed to the Age of Philanthropy, providing decent wages and living conditions for his workers. Then after selling the profitable business, he used his money  to promote Droitwich Spa and the therapeutic benefits of the salt baths.

Tardebigge flight

You’ll want to time your trip to allow a full day for the flight because there’s no overnight mooring allowed on the flight. Once you reach the Tardebigge Wharf, at least you can enjoy a hot shower there with a CRT key. And don’t forget to look for the plaque (or plaques) near the top lock of the flight commemorating the meeting between LTC Rolt, his wife Angela, and Robert Aickman that led to the founding of the Inland Waterways Association.

By the way, that top lock is the deepest narrow lock in the UK. The original plan was to use an experimental boat lift there but apparently it was a little too experimental and instead they opted for a single, very deep lock.

In addition to the showers at the wharf, you can walk to the nearby Tardebigge Wacky Warehouse, especially if you have young kids on your boat that need to blow off some steam. (It’s too lame for teens, I should think.) If you don’t have kids, you could also stop at the Tardebigge Court “retail village” for shopping and dining.