River Avon, Hampshire

This article is about the river flowing through Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset. For the small river in the New Forest, see Avon Water. For other rivers called Avon, see River Avon.

Coordinates: 51°20′56″N 1°56′53″W / 51.349°N 1.948°W / 51.349; -1.948

River Avon

The River Avon in Salisbury
Country	United Kingdom
Country within the UK	England
Counties	Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset

Tributaries
- left	Bourne
- right	Nadder, Ebble


Source
- location	Pewsey, Wiltshire
Mouth	English Channel
- location	Mudeford, Dorset

Length	96 km (60 mi)

The River Avon is a river in the south of England. The river rises in the county of Wiltshire and flows through the city of Salisbury and the county of Hampshire before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the county of Dorset.

It is sometimes known as the Salisbury Avon or the Hampshire Avon in order to distinguish it from the various other River Avons in England. It is one of the rivers in Britain in which the phenomenon of anchor ice has been observed.^[1] The Avon is thought to contain more species of fish than any other river in Britain.^[2]

Etymology

The river's name is a tautology: Avon [Ay-von] is derived from the Proto-Brythonic word meaning "river", and therefore the river's name means River River.

Course

The Avon begins as two separate rivers. The western Avon rises to the east of Devizes, draining the Vale of Pewsey, and the eastern Avon rises just east of Pewsey adjacent to the Kennet and Avon Canal. These two merge at Upavon, flowing southwards across Salisbury Plain through Durrington, Amesbury and Salisbury. To the south of Salisbury it enters the Hampshire Basin, flowing along the western edge of the New Forest through Fordingbridge and Ringwood, meeting up with the River Stour at Christchurch, to flow into Christchurch Harbour and the English Channel at Mudeford.

All the significant direct and indirect tributaries of the Avon, including the Nadder, Wylye, Bourne and Ebble, converge within a short distance around Salisbury.

About half of the length of the river is within Wiltshire, and only relatively short proportions are entirely within the current boundaries of Hampshire or Dorset. However, for part of its path the river forms the border between Dorset and Hampshire, and prior to the 1974 reorganization of local government the whole of the section now in or bordering Dorset was wholly within Hampshire. As there are two rivers with the name Avon in Wiltshire, this led to the river being popularly known as the Hampshire Avon or the Salisbury Avon.

The Avon Valley Path runs parallel with the river from Salisbury to Christchurch.

A view of the River Avon in Hampshire near Fordingbridge.

Rights of use

Canoeists seeking legitimate access to the Avon have recently identified a long-forgotten Act in their favour. The "Act for making the River Avon navigable from Christchurch to the city of New Sarum" was enacted in 1664 under Charles II.^[3] This act has not been repealed, hence remains in force providing a legal right of navigation.

Court cases were brought in the 18th century concerning the loss of navigation of the river.^[4] One was in 1737 and another was in 1772.^[5]

The position on rights of Navigation is neither clear or established.

The river Avon is SSSI, SAC and RAMSAR where water vessel activity can compromise the specific features.

The DEFRA & Fish Legal opinion seeks to set out the position on public rights of navigation as follows:

http://fishlegal.net/page.asp?section=1032&sectionTitle=Defra+publishes+legal+opinion+on+Canoeists%92+%93unconvincing%94+claims+of+universal+access

Settlements

Wiltshire
Upper Avon Valley:

Woodford Valley:

Salisbury:

Wiltshire Watermeadows:

Hampshire:

Dorset:

Conservation

A four-year project called STREAM began in September 2005. This was a £1 million project designed to benefit the habitats of species such as Water-crowfoot, Atlantic salmon, Brook lamprey, Sea lamprey, bullhead, Desmoulin's whorl snail, Gadwall and Cygnus columbianus Berwick's swan.^[6]

There is also a sister project called Living River which runs from 2006 to 2010. This is providing better access and recreation, as well as biodiversity.^[7]

Both of these projects had been shortlisted for the 2009 Thiess International Riverprize competing against four other projects: the Yellow River in China, Lake Simcoe in Canada, the Polochic Basin in Guatemala and the Lower Owens River in the USA. The prize for 2009 was awarded to Lake Simcoe.^[8]

References

↑ Hoodless, W.A. (2010). Christchurch Curiosities. The History Press Ltd. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7524-5670-6.
↑ Wright, John (2003). Discover Dorset, Rivers and Streams. Wimborne, Dorset.: Dovecote Press. p. 41. ISBN 1-904349-10-2.
↑ "1664 Law Could Prove Right To Row". BBC News. 23 February 2007.
↑ Cross, Donald Alfred Edgar (1970). "The Salisbury Avon Navigation". Industrial Archaeology. David & Charles. VII (2): 121–135.
↑ The National Archives. "Material for the History of Wiltshire Canals: Salisbury Avon Navigation". Your Archives. The National Archives. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
↑ Stream project website
↑ Living River Project Website
↑ 2009 International Theiss Riverprize

Wikimedia Commons has media related to River Avon, Hampshire.

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire

Acres Farm Meadow River Avon System Baverstock Juniper Bank Bencroft Hill Meadows Bentley Wood Bincknoll Dip Woods Blackmoor Copse Botley Down Bowerchalke Downs Box Mine Bracknell Croft Bradley Woods Bratton Downs Brickworth Down and Dean Hill Brimsdown Hill Britford Water Meadows Burcombe Down Burderop Wood Calstone and Cherhill Downs Camp Down Chilmark Quarries Chickengrove Bottom Chilton Foliat Meadows Clattinger Farm Clearbury Down Cley Hill Cloatley Manor Farm Meadows Clout's Wood Coate Water Cockey Down Colerne Park and Monk's Wood The Coombes, Hinton Parva Cotswold Water Park Cranborne Chase Dank's Down and Truckle Hill Distillery Farm Meadows East Harnham Meadows Ebsbury Down Emmett Hill Meadows Figsbury Ring Fonthill Grottoes Fyfield Down Gallows Hill Goldborough Farm Meadows Great Cheverell Hill Great Yews Gutch Common Ham Hill Hang Wood Harries Ground, Rodbourne Haydon Meadow Heath Hill Farm Homington and Coombe Bissett Downs Honeybrook Farm Inwood, Warleigh Jones's Mill River Kennet Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain King's Play Hill Knapp and Barnett's Downs Knighton Downs and Wood Landford Bog Landford Heath Langley Wood and Homan's Copse Little Grubbins Meadow Long Knoll Loosehanger Copse and Meadows Lower Coombe and Ferne Brook Meadows Lower Woodford Water Meadows Midford Valley Woods Morgan's Hill The New Forest North Meadow, Cricklade Odstock Down Out Woods Parsonage Down Pewsey Downs Picket and Clanger Wood Piggledene Pike Corner Pincombe Down Porton Down Porton Meadows Prescombe Down Rack Hill Ravensroost Wood Restrop Farm and Brockhurst Wood Rotherley Downs Roundway Down and Covert Salisbury Plain Savernake Forest Scratchbury & Cotley Hills Silbury Hill Spye Park Starveall and Stony Down Steeple Langford Down Stockton Wood and Down Stoke Common Meadows Stratford Toney Down Sutton Lane Meadows Throope Down River Till Tytherington Down Upper Waterhay Meadow Upton Cow Down West Yatton Down Whiteparish Common Whitesheet Hill Win Green Down Winklebury Hill Winsley Mines Wylye and Church Dean Downs Yarnbury Castle

Neighbouring areas Avon Berkshire Dorset Gloucestershire Hampshire Oxfordshire Somerset

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire

Basingstoke Canal Beacon Hill, Warnford Blackwater Valley Boulsbury Wood Bourley and Long Valley Burghclere Beacon Butser Hill Catherington Down Cheesefoot Head Chichester Harbour Dibden Bay Ebblake Bog Fleet Pond Foxlease And Ancells Meadows Galley Down Wood Greywell Tunnel Hurst Castle And Lymington River Estuary Itchen Navigation Ladle Hill Langstone Harbour Lymington River Lymington River Reedbeds Mottisfont Bats New Forest Noar Hill Old Burghclere Lime Quarry Old Winchester Hill Pamber Forest and Silchester Common Portsmouth Harbour River Avon System River Itchen River Test Selborne Common Southampton Common Sowley Pond St. Catherine's Hill Trodds Copse Woolmer Forest

Neighbouring areas Berkshire Dorset Isle of Wight Surrey West Sussex Wiltshire

Ceremonial county of Dorset

Dorset Portal

Unitary authorities	Bournemouth Poole

Boroughs or districts	Christchurch East Dorset North Dorset Purbeck West Dorset Weymouth and Portland

Major settlements	Beaminster Blandford Forum Bournemouth Bridport Chickerell Christchurch Dorchester Ferndown Gillingham Lyme Regis Poole Portland Shaftesbury Sherborne Stalbridge Sturminster Newton Swanage Upton Verwood Wareham Weymouth Wimborne Minster See also: List of civil parishes in Dorset

Rivers	Allen Asker Avon Axe Bourne Brit Cerne Frome Hooke Moors Piddle Stour Sydling Water Tarrant Wey

Topics	Flag Settlements Beaches County Council Places Population of major settlements Geology Geography SSSIs History Schools Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs Museums People Transport

Christchurch, Dorset

See also: History of Christchurch Listed buildings in Christchurch

Areas	Blackwater Burton Fairmile Friars Cliff Highcliffe Hoburne Hurn Jumpers Common Knapp Mudeford Portfield Purewell Somerford Stanpit Winkton

Rivers	River Avon Bure Brook River Mude River Stour

Attractions	Christchurch Castle Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Priory Highcliffe Castle Mudeford Quay The Museum of Electricity The Red House Museum Stanpit Marsh Tucktonia

Schools	Burton CoE Primary Christchurch Junior Highcliffe Mudeford Infants Mudeford Junior The Priory CoE Primary Somerford Infants Somerford Junior The Grange Twynham

Railway stations	Christchurch original Christchurch Hurn

Air travel	Bournemouth Airport Christchurch Airfield RAF Christchurch RAF Hurn

Hospital	Christchurch

Politics	Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency) Christchurch and Lymington (UK Parliament constituency) Christchurch by-election, 1993 Christchurch Borough Council elections

Battle	Battle of Mudeford

Football club	Christchurch F.C.

Hydrology of Hampshire

Main rivers	River Alre River Anton Avon Water River Avon Bartley Water Beaulieu River River Blackwater (River Loddon) River Blackwater (River Test) Bourne Rivulet Candover Brook Cove Brook Dark Water River Dever River Dun River Ems River Hamble River Itchen Kingsley Stream River Loddon Lymington River River Meon Monks Brook Oakhanger Stream Oxney Stream River Rother River Test River Wallington River Wey River Whitewater

Canals and Navigations	Andover Canal Basingstoke Canal Itchen Navigation Portsmouth and Arundel Canal Salisbury and Southampton Canal Titchfield Canal

Ordinary watercourses	Bentworth Stream West End Brook

Lakes, ponds and wetlands	Chessel Bay Eyeworth Pond Farlington Marshes Fleet Pond Keyhaven, Pennington, Oxey and Normandy Marshes Lakeside Country Park Manor Farm duck pond Sowley Pond Testwood Lakes Waggoners Wells

Coast	Chichester Harbour Langstone Harbour Portsmouth Harbour Solent Southampton Water

Categories: Rivers, Canals

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