Walk: Salwarpe to Severn via Droitwich Canal

The Walk (7km / 1hr 48mins)

Last weekend Lauren and I decided to meander our way along the Droitwich canal from St Michael’s Church to the confluence where the River Salwarpe meets the Severn at Hawford.

We started the day by dropping one car off at the end point along Hawford Lock Lane behind the A449. We drove the second car to the canal bridge next to St Michael’s Church in Salwarpe, then began our walk with a chipper appreciation for the balmy autumn day that we had been blessed with.

Our route followed the Droitwich Canal, which proved to be ameniable considering the amount of rain we had in the preceeding week. Along the way we admired the stuctural seedheads of wild angelica Angelica sylvestris and teasel Dipsacus fullonum.

We sat on lock 5a to eat our lunch, then continued on west, past the Saturday morning fishermen at Porter’s Mill Lane and onward toward Mildenham Mill Lock.

It was on this stretch that I stopped to collect some aquatic specimens from asluice between the canal and the Salwarpe. One of which was the ubiquitous Canadian waterweed Elodea canadensis, but the second species was more intriguing. It was a fine-leaved aquatic, and after the initial thought that it was a Potamogeon. I quickly realised it was more likely to be a horned pondweed or a Zannichellia (See section 2 below ‘Horned Pondweed’).

The Sluice at SO86066020 with *Elodea, Zannichellia* and *Apium inundatum*

We continued to amble along the leafy towpath and came to a lovely section of canal flanked by mature woodland on the southern bank. Here I recorded some wild service Sorbus torminalis. With a splash, we got talking to a fisherman who was unhooking a common bream Abramis brama. He informed us that the canal here was frequently inundated by the Salwarpe and enabled river species such as chub to enter the canal network and make for some exceptional canal fishing.

We passed underneath the A449 and were greeted by an expansive floodplain, which felt somewhat exotic against the autumn sun and blue sky. Mistletoe Viscum album conspicuously adorned the white willow Salix alba pollards and we turned back to the A449 for salvation from the flooded towpath.

Flooding where the Salwarpe meets the Severn

We returned to car number one, and swiftly realised that we had left the keys in car number two – a silent taxi ride was had back to the starting point. I can finally laugh about it now, almost a week later…ha

Horned Pondweed Zannichellia palustris

After consulting the Aquatic Plants of Northern and Central Europe, I believe it to be Zanchellia palustris, but have yet to put a sub-species to it. I was leaning toward sub-species pedicellata due to the following factors, but I am not confident to record it yet.

Leaves around 1mm, Horned pondweed *Zannichellia palustris*

The fruits seem to have a pedicel of atleast 1mm, possibly longer.
There were three fruits at almost every fruiting node, some had two, none had more than three.
The leaves were around 1mm (narrower in subsp. palustris?)
The plants were located around 2km west of the Droitwich brine springs (pedicellata is more tolerant of salinity? Possibility.)

I have sent off photographs of the specimen to the BSBI aquatic plant referee and may also send a pressed specimen if time allows. watch this space…