The Droitwich Barge Canal is a broad canal which links Droitwich Spa to the river Severn at Hawford. The canal links to the Droitwich Junction Canal in Droitwich. The two canals are sometimes together known as the Droitwich Canal.
The Droitwich Barge Canal was opened in 1771, a major cargo being salt (Droitwich having been a source of salt thanks to it's natural brine springs since Roman times). The canal was built as a broad canal able to accommodate Severn trows which could be up to 20m long. The canal was already in a commercial decline by the early 19th century though matters were helped by the opening of the Droitwich Junction Canal in 1854 which linked through to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. By the early 20th century the canal was making a loss and was abandoned in 1939, though the last cargo boat had used the canal as far back as 1916.
Restoration of the canal began in 1969 though it was until 2009 that the Droitwich Canals were fully navigable again.
