The Avon Valley Path is a long-distance path, opened in 1992, which runs for through the English counties of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. The path takes its name from the River Avon. From

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

it passes through the towns of

Fordingbridge Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,000 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest, famed for its late medieva ...

and Ringwood as well as the villages of

Odstock Odstock is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the village of Nunton with its nearby hamlet of Bodenham. The parish is in the valley of the River Ebble, which joins the Hampshire Avon near Bo ...

Nunton Nunton is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southeast of Salisbury. The former parish included the small village of Bodenham, to the east. Nunton is on the River Ebble, while Bodenham is close to the junct ...

Charlton-All-Saints Charlton-All-Saints is a hamlet in the civil parish of Downton, in South Wiltshire, England. It lies immediately west of the River Avon, about north of Downton village and south-east of the city of Salisbury. The village has a population of ...

, Downton,

Hale Hale may refer to: Places Australia *Hale, Northern Territory, a locality *Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory Canada *Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom * Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria *Hale, Greater Man ...

, Woodgreen, Turmer,

Ibsley Ibsley is a village in Hampshire, England. It is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the town of Ringwood. It is in the civil parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley. Overview The village of Ibsley lies to the east of the River Avon on the m ...

, Kingston,

Sopley Sopley is a village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It lies on the old main road from Christchurch to Ringwood, on the east bank of the River Avon. The parish extends east as far as Thorny Hill ...

and Burton. It ends near the coast at

Christchurch Priory Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). It is one of the longest parish churches in the country and is as large as many of the Church of E ...

, Dorset. The path is waymarked with green arrows featuring a bridge, and shown as a series of coloured diamonds on Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps. It can be walked in either direction. The path crosses the

Clarendon Way The Clarendon Way is a recreational footpath in Hampshire and Wiltshire, England. It starts beside the waters of the River Itchen in the centre of Winchester and ends near the River Avon at Salisbury Cathedral. The path passes through the Cl ...

and

Castleman Trailway The Castleman Trailway is a footpath in Southern England. Portions of the trailway are also used as a cyclepath but the middle section from East Wimborne (close to The Old Thatch public house) to the River Allen bridge (just south of Wimbor ...

, and passes through the western edge of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

. Parts of the route can become waterlogged, particularly from December to May.

References

External links

Hampshire County Council - The Avon Valley Path

References

External links

See also