ONE of the most enjoyable aspects of this week's varied walk to the south of Droitwich is the Droitwich Barge Canal, engineered by James Brindley and opened in 1771.

Its purpose was to connect Droitwich with the River Severn at Hawford, thus providing access for the Severn trows to the lucrative salt industry.

The canal was a great commercial success and thrived for many years until eventually abandoned in the early 20th Century. In 1973, restoration work was begun but is still not complete.

The remaining unrestored sections have become superb linear wildlife refuges, with a variety of species living in the dense vegetation that lines the canal.

As you walk along the towpath you will be continually distracted by the rustlings and squeakings of small mammals, while moorhens, mallards, warblers and buntings call from the reedbeds.

Droitwich itself has a certain amount of green space, and the walk begins at St Peter's Fields, given to the public in 1951 by Alderman Dr Eric Shirley Jones as permanent open space. Wychavon District Council later created an arboretum and a conservation area, while a variety of facilities are available at the lido.

The walk also ends in public parkland - this is Vines Park, created around the canal and the River Salwarpe in 1984 from an industrial wasteland which had developed since salt production ceased in the 1920s.

Before that, this part of Droitwich had been of economic importance for centuries. Archaeological excavation has revealed Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains, and evidence of salt production extending back into prehistory.

Vines Park includes the site of Upwich Pit, the principal brine well in Droitwich and the historical centre of the salt industry.

An unexpected feature of the walk is the extensive view from Yew Tree Hill. Though it's only 80m high, you can see from the Clee Hills to the Malverns.

DIRECTION

Start: Droitwich Lido, Worcester Road, Droitwich; GR 901633.

Length: 8 miles/12.8km.

Maps: OS Landranger 150, OS Explorer 204.

Terrain: mostly flat, with just one gentle slope; mainly pastureland and canal towpath, but also arable fields where the rights of way are overcropped in places.

Stiles: 20.

Parking: Droitwich Lido.

Public transport: frequent daily buses (22/144) and trains; County Bus Line 08457 125436.

Refreshments: The Swan at Martin Hussingtree.

WALK through the lido car park then bear right past the bowling club. Follow the main path past the lido then walk to the left of tennis courts, with Bishop's Pool on your left. Shortly turn left over a footbridge into a conservation area and immediately turn right into woodland, soon forking right and then left to cross a boardwalk.

Keep straight on along the main path which soon emerges in parkland. Again, keep straight on, soon intercepting a track. Turn left, crossing a bridge and then leaving St Peter's Fields.

Walk along a path between a timber-framed house and the church of St Peter de Witton. Reaching a junction, keep forward along Dovecote Road, then shortly right onto Charlecote Road. Turn left on a footpath by a conifer hedge, left again at the next street, then turn right onto a footpath by number 18.

Go through a cul-de-sac, across a street and straight on along a footpath to meet a road, almost opposite a pub. Turn right, then almost immediately left. Climb to a junction, turn left, then right on Holly Close, and shortly left on a footpath into a field. Follow the waymarked path towards the water tower on Yew Tree Hill.

At the foot of the tower keep straight on, passing to the right of it, over a stile and then straight on across three fields. Pass to the right of a farm to reach a lane. Turn left, then first right on a footpath.

Keep straight on until you come to a footpath junction, shortly after passing Newlandhouse Farm. Turn right to reach a road at Newland Common, then right again. Turn first left on a footpath along the edge of pasture. When you come to a stile where two footpaths are indicated take the left-hand one along the edge of a field. Cross a stile at the far end then cross another field to enter woodland, not far from the right-hand field corner.

Walk through the wood, keeping straight on at a junction. Emerge on a road opposite Saddlestones House. Turn right and soon right again on a bridleway. Cross a pasture to enter a beanfield. The bridleway runs straight across but is completely blocked so follow the right-hand field edge until you come to a gate into woodland. Pass through the wood, emerge into a field and turn left. After walking under powerlines turn right and follow the powerlines across the field, joining a track which leads to the A38 at Martin Hussingtree.

Cross over and walk down Drury Lane until you can join a waymarked footpath which leads past poultry sheds into fields. When the path forks take the left-hand option, going diagonally to the far corner of a field then over a stile and footbridge. Again two paths are indicated - take the right-hand one, going forward to a pond then left along the edge of a field. Cross the railway then follow the path across three fields to Ladywood Road. Turn right.

Turn left at Ladywood and you'll soon come to Ladywood Lock on the canal. Join the towpath and follow it north to Droitwich. When you reach the town you may have to leave the towpath by the Railway Inn but you can return to it after a few metres to walk past the canal basin into Vines Park. There are several footbridges across the canal, all of which provide access to the town centre. This walk has been carefully checked and the directions are believed to be correct at the time of publication. No responsibility is accepted by either the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss or injury, however caused.