Situated in the Worcestershire Plain in the Salwarpe River Valley 5 miles north of Worcester and some 23 miles South West of Birmingham sits Droitwich Spa. There is evidence of settlement here since the Iron age (200 AD) and the Romans had a strong presence here for over 400 years in a town called Salinae. It was the salt and brine that has made this location popular. The area around Droitwich sits on Triassic Marl and sandstone interlaced with beds of rock salt from which brine springs emerge these springs are up to ten times more concentrated than seawater. The Anglo Saxons carried on the salt workings and during the 7th and 8th Centuries the Mercian Kings and the Worcester Cathedral owned most of the salt rights.

King Athelstan (924939) designated Droitwich as a Mint for the production of coins during the reign of Edward the Confessor (10421066) the mint was one of only six in the country to be allowed to produce special coins. By the tine of the Norman Invasion Droitwich was Englands foremost producer of Salt and is the most frequently mentioned place in the Domesday Book. Salt continued to be produced until the late 19th century and into the early 20th until the finally closing in 1922.

It was during an outbreak of cholera in 1823 that the medicinal qualities of bathing in hot bring became apparent. A local man a Mr Gabb built the first Brine baths in 1836. John Corbett aquired the baths and built a second in 1888 called ST. Andrews Brine Baths. John Corbett was a leading personalitily during the 19th century he built a Louis XIII style house for his wife Anna Eliza OMeara who had been educated in France. This house still stands as the Chateau Impney Hotel sited to the north of the town and well worth a visit. The brine baths became famous for the treating of rhumatic and arthritic problems. The Royal Brine Bath closed in the 1930s and the St. Andrews Bath in 1975. A new bath complex was open in 1985 attached to a private Hospital but which is also open to the public.

The River Salwarpe had been used for the transportation of salt but with flooding in the winter and low water in the summer was not always reliable. In 1762 the great canal builder James Brindley met with the sale producers to plan a canal from Droitwich to the River Seven this was compleated in 1771. The canal was in use until 1915 the salt workings ceased in 1922 and the canal was legally discontinued in 1939. In 1973 the Droitwich Canal Trust was formed with the aim of restoring the canal and hope to reopen in 2009.

As befits a town with a long history Droitwich has a wealth of historic buildings. As mentioned the Chateau Impney Hotel is just one of a host of architectural gems all worthy of a viewing St. Richards House with the frontage of the old Brine Baths The Raven Hotel built during the reign of Elizabeth the First and the church of St. Nicholas where Judge Jeffreys was said to have held one of his infamous Assizes in 1685 to name just a few.

With a Market every Friday and a host of Resaurants Pubs and Hotels Droitwich is a historic place well worth a visit.