Droitwich canals

[hvdb]

In the beginning of August we went up the Droitwich canals. We entered them from the River Severn. The new lock landings looked smart, however the first couple of locks were overflowing badly and the pounds in between were very shallow.

 

 

 

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The canal itself was very pretty, narrow because of the abundant reeds and again very shallow, we thought ourselves lucky that we met very few boats coming from the other direction, passing other boats was difficult, though with all boats going slowly all went well.

 

 

 

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The people in Droitwich were most friendly, almost glad to see boats on the canal, they opened the swing bridges for us, and were helpful with the liftbridge that is set over the middle of one of the locks. By the way, there is a Waitrose near the canal, but we found no moorings close to the shop.

 

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The passage under the M5 is very low, we had to take off the chimney and the tv-antenna and we had to duck so we would not bang our heads, I wonder how it will be when the water level is back to normal.

 

 

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The Droitwich canals are beautiful and well worth a visit. In the July(?) isssue of Canal World is an up-to-date map of the canals, in a pull-out section.

[stripey]

Great pictures - thanks. We went up last week, and it was a delight to do so so soon after the reopening, and to get the plaque!

 

Still short of water, especially on the Junction Canal, and some of the concrete new works will need to age a bit to look nice. Everythng worked well, includng the Hanbury flight at the top, although the bottom gates of the top lock had wooden props to keep them open!

 

Vines Park is a great centrepiece to the canal. As a whole, it could do with some BW mooring rings in a couple of places.

 

Lastly, I tried to get one of the newly published Droitwich Canal guides all along, and including at Hanbury Wharf, but even they couldn't get one. Strange, as I would have thought these would have sold like hot Eccles cakes.

[David Mack]

In the beginning of August we went up the Droitwich canals. We entered them from the River Severn. The new lock landings looked smart, however the first couple of locks were overflowing badly and the pounds in between were very shallow.

 

The canal itself was very pretty, narrow because of the abundant reeds and again very shallow, we thought ourselves lucky that we met very few boats coming from the other direction, passing other boats was difficult, though with all boats going slowly all went well.

 

We went down from Hanbury to the Severn on Saturday in Fulbourne, drawing 3 ft, and found no problem with depth at all except on the top section of the Junction Canal between Hanbury Junction and the top lock. The channel may look quite narrow, but my experience is that the reeds grow in deep water, and you can quite happily steer well into them without problem. Indeed on the Worcester and Birmingham just to the north of Hanbury the the reeded section proved to be much deeper than the clear water on the towpath side.

 

By the way, there is a Waitrose near the canal, but we found no moorings close to the shop.

 

There are secure pontoon visitor moorings in the Netherwich Basin at the west (downstream) end of Vines Park, accessed by BW key. From here you can walk through the park and across one of the swing bridges to Waitrose. Alternatively you can take the path west from the basin, past the Railway pub, turn left over the canal, continue straight on into Hampton Road, through the subway and then there is a path on your right leading up to Morrisons.

 

The passage under the M5 is very low, we had to take off the chimney and the tv-antenna and we had to duck so we would not bang our heads, I wonder how it will be when the water level is back to normal.

 

We had to take the chimney down, as is usual with low bridges, but otherwise no problems with headroom or depth under the M5.

 

David

[Josher]

A Royal visitor, no less ...

 

Town prepares to welcome the Earl of Wessex 12:50pm Monday 28th November 2011 Droitwich Advertiser

 

 

PREPARATIONS are well underway to again welcome The Earl of Wessex to Droitwich Spa. Members of the town’s waterway trust gathered together to prepare the Pamela May community trip boat in time for Thursday's visit. The boat will be used by His Royal Highness Prince Edward as he arrives in Vines Park at 12.30pm. People from Droitwich Waterways (Pamela May) Trust, formerly Droitwich Canals Trust, made sure everything was shipshape when they met on Friday, November 25. His Royal Highness is revisiting Droitwich to see how the town has recovered from the flood troubles of 2007. He first visited in January 2008 where he saw for himself the damage which had hit the High Street during the floods.

 

Thursday’s visit will see him travel on the newly restored Droitwich canals before arriving in Vines Park at 12.30pm. He will then visit Spa Youth Zone ahead of meeting High Street traders. The visit will culminate at 1.15pm with a brief reception at the Parish Centre. Pam Davey, chairman of Droitwich Waterways (Pamela May) Trust, said: “It is a fantastic honour for us that the Pamela May will be used by His Royal Highness to arrive in Droitwich. We are really looking forward to the visit.” Droitwich Waterways (Pamela May) Trust was recently former to promote and protect the waterways around the town. It was formed to replace Droitwich Canals Trust which disbanded after successfully overseeing the £11.5 million restoration of the Spa’s canal network. The Pamela May trip boat is operated by volunteers. “We are carrying on the good work of all those volunteers who made the opening of the canals possible and we are very proud to have been chosen to play a part in the visit of the Earl of Wessex to Droitwich Spa,” added Mrs Davey.