Interlude: the delightful Droitwich

Before the hard labour of Tardebigge, a few words about a delightful interlude a couple of days back when we took a stroll down the soon-to-be-reopened Droitwich Canal from Hanbury to the edge of Droitwich itself.
What an idyllic little canal this will be. It drops down through a cluster of the original locks and then travels through a reconstructed channel and a couple of brand new locks before ducking under the M5 motorway and on into the town.
But the charm is its surroundings; a carefully cultivated (or rather uncultivated) wildlife haven thick with wild flowers and, on the sunny day when we walked through, alive with a multiplicity of butterflies. This will not be a canal for the long term or even the short-term moorers; the banksides have been deliberately left unkempt. If you want to explore, moor at Hanbury and stroll, as we did. You'll be well rewarded.