The River Avon () is in the south of England, rising in
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 ...
, flowing through that county's city of
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 Wil ...
and then west
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, before reaching the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
through
Christchurch Harbour
Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch.
Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is g ...
in the
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournem ...
conurbation of
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 (unitary authority), Dors ...
.
It is sometimes known as the Salisbury Avon or the Hampshire Avon to distinguish it from namesakes across Great Britain. It is one of the rivers in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in which the phenomenon of
anchor ice
Anchor ice is defined by the World Meteorological Organization as "submerged ice attached or anchored to the bottom, irrespective of the nature of its formation". It may also be called bottom-fast ice. Anchor ice is most commonly observed in fast ...
has been observed. The Avon is thought to contain more species of fish than any other river in Britain. Long-farmed pastures and planted, arable fields line much of the valley; an indication of the wealth these brought to landowners is in ten large
listed houses with statutorily recognised and protected parks. Many prehistoric sites and broader "landscapes" are found on either side of the river, the largest being the World Heritage Site zone of
Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) in Wiltshire, England. The WHS covers two large areas of land separated by about , rather than a specific monument or building. The sites were inscribed as co-listi ...
, followed by the
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
knoll fortification and the Thornham Down prehistoric and medieval landscape.
Etymology
The river's name is a
tautology: ''Avon'' is the
Proto-Brythonic word meaning "river".
Course
![River Avon near Fordingbridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/River_Avon_near_Fordingbridge.jpg)
The Avon begins as two separate bodies of water. The western arm
rises to the east of
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...
, draining the
Vale of Pewsey
The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey.
Geography
The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...
, and is joined by Etchilhampton Water which rises in the
Bishops Cannings
Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England, north-east of Devizes. The parish includes the village of Coate (not to be confused with Coate, Swindon) and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Ho ...
area and flows south past
Etchilhampton
Etchilhampton is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey east of Devizes.
History
The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded a settlement of 28 households, held by Edward of Salisbury. The manor came into the Ma ...
and through
Patney
__NOTOC__
Patney is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey about south-east of Devizes.
The infant Salisbury Avon forms part of the southern boundary of the parish.
Religious sites
The nearest Anglican c ...
.
The eastern arm rises at
Easton Royal
Easton Royal is a village in the civil parish of Easton in Wiltshire, England, about east of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. The village was the location of Easton Priory from 1234 to 1536. The village mistakenly gained the Royal suffix in 18 ...
, east of
Pewsey
Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Rea ...
, and is joined by the Woodborough Stream which rises at
Alton Priors
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
*Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
* Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
and flows south through
Woodborough and
North Newnton
North Newnton is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, southwest of Pewsey. The parish is in the Vale of Pewsey which carries the upper section of the Salisbury Avon.
The parish includes the small village of Bottlesford and the hamlet of Hil ...
.
The two branches merge at
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
,
flowing southwards across
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
through
Durrington,
Amesbury
Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...
and
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 Wil ...
. To the south of Salisbury the river enters the
Hampshire Basin
The Hampshire Basin is a geological basin of Palaeogene age in southern England, underlying parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, and Sussex. Like the London Basin to the northeast, it is filled with sands and clays of Paleocene and yo ...
, flowing along 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, featu ...
through
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, meeting up with the
River Stour at
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, to flow into
Christchurch Harbour
Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch.
Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is g ...
. The harbour opens into the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
past a cluster of small mouths of brooks from the New Forest and a broad sandbank, which is all built up as the
Mudeford
Mudeford ( ) is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England (historically in Hampshire), fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach.
The Riv ...
part of the harbour.
All the significant direct and indirect tributaries of the Avon, including the
Nadder,
Wylye
Wylye () is a village and civil parish on the River Wylye in Wiltshire, England. The village is about northwest of Salisbury and a similar distance southeast of Warminster.
The parish extends north and south of the river, and includes the h ...
,
Bourne
Bourne may refer to:
Places UK
* Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town
** Bourne Abbey
** Bourne railway station
* Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex
* Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset
* Bourne ...
and
Ebble, converge within a short distance around Salisbury.
A short distance north from the river's western source is
Morgan's Hill, which marks the hydrological
triple divide
A triple divide or triple watershed is a point on the Earth's surface where three drainage basins meet. A triple divide results from the intersection of two drainage divides. Triple divides range from prominent mountain peaks to minor side pea ...
of Great Britain, where rainfall drains into the English Channel (via this River Avon), the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
(via the
Bristol Avon
The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh word , meaning 'river'.
The Avon r ...
and
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...
) and the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
(via the
Kennet Kennet may refer to:
Places in the United Kingdom
*Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
People
*Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
* D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist
*Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...
and
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
).
About half of the river is in Wiltshire; the rest is split between Hampshire and (since the
1974 boundary changes) Dorset.
As two Avons drain parts of Wiltshire, the river is popularly known as the Hampshire Avon or the Salisbury Avon (and the other as the
Bristol Avon
The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh word , meaning 'river'.
The Avon r ...
).
17th-century navigation
![Britford - Water Meadows](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Britford_-_Water_Meadows.jpg)
Construction of a
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
from Salisbury to
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
was authorised by the
River Avon Navigation (Christchurch to New Sarum) Act 1664. Work began in 1675 and the route was completed in 1684, but it fell out of use around 1715. Canalised channels were dug to straighten sections of the river, including one through
Britford
Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.
Geography
...
parish just below Salisbury; a lock survives on this section near
Longford Castle
Longford Castle stands on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor, and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house.
History
In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the t ...
, having been rebuilt in brick as a
pound lock
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...
soon after the original
flash lock
A flash lock is a type of lock for river or canal transport.
Early locks were designed with a single gate, known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The earliest European references to what were clearly flash locks were in Roman times.
Developme ...
was damaged by flooding in the early 18th century.
Path
The
Avon Valley Path
The Avon Valley Path is a long-distance path, opened in 1992, which runs for through the English counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset.
The path takes its name from the River Avon. From Salisbury it passes through the towns of Fordin ...
follows the river between Salisbury and Christchurch.
Rights of way
Canoeists
A canoe is a lightweight narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British Englis ...
seeking lawful passage as high as Salisbury have attempted to invoke the 1644 Navigation Act in their favour. However, the Act was subject to enabling works, most of which were never completed, hence the right is disputed. Responsibility for delivery was given to private undertakers in the names of Hodges, Bennett and Dennett, who were to fund the canalisation between the places. They were allowed to charge their investment at 10% interest rate and could take full commercial advantage, which tripartite agreements from 1684 and 1685 evidence. The
House of Commons Journal of 31 January 1699 records that the freeholders, inhabitants and residents of Ibsley and Fordingbridge petitioned the House on the fact that they could not comply with the 1664 Act and were never likely to do so. The House sided with them and effectively declared its view of the law, the finality of which, lacking
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
, the
law of rights of way is unclear on but makes more likely the view that the Act became
voidable
Voidable, in law, is a transaction or action that is valid but may be annulled by one of the parties to the transaction. Voidable is usually used in distinction to void ''ab initio'' (or void from the outset) and unenforceable.
Definition
The ac ...
as the works to canalise the Avon were never implemented. Indecisive court cases were brought in 1737 and 1772 to enforce the alleged but not exercised right (to benefit barge owners).
Landowner's houses with parkland
![BreamoreHouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/BreamoreHouse.jpg)
The valley from north to south has the following houses with large parks and gardens, significantly funded in their original form by the rich, mixed agriculture from the little-wooded upper valley plains and sides:
*
Conock Manor
Chirton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southern edge of the Vale of Pewsey about south-east of Devizes. The parish includes the hamlet of Conock, about half a mile west of Chirton village.
Both settlements are jus ...
, Chirton
*
Amesbury Abbey
Amesbury Abbey was a Benedictine abbey of women at Amesbury in Wiltshire, England, founded by Queen Ælfthryth in about the year 979 on what may have been the site of an earlier monastery. The abbey was dissolved in 1177 by Henry II, who founded ...
*
Lake House
Lake House is an Elizabethan architecture, Elizabethan English country house, country house dating from 1578, in Wilsford cum Lake in Wiltshire, England, about seven miles north of Salisbury. It is a Grade I listed building. The gardens are Gra ...
, Wilsford
*Heale House,
Middle Woodford
Middle or The Middle may refer to:
* Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits.
Places
* Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man
* Middle Bay (disambiguation)
* Middle Brook (disambiguation)
* Middle Creek (di ...
*
Wilton House
Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution o ...
(including orangery, loggietta, whispering seat, classical bridges, follies, columns, Holbein porch,
James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
architecture)
*
Longford Castle
Longford Castle stands on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor, and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house.
History
In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the t ...
(including two listed bridges over the river, parterre, statues of fame and Diana)
*
Trafalgar Park, Downton (including chapel)
*
Hale Park (includes lodge, barns and granaries)
*
Breamore House
Breamore House is an Elizabethan manor house noted for its fine collection of paintings and furniture and situated NW of Breamore village, north of Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England. Though it remains in private hands, it is open to visitors from ...
(includes tower, and museum cottage)
*
Somerley
Somerley is a large Georgian Grade II* listed English country house that is situated in the civil parish of Ellingham and Harbridge with Ibsley in the New Forest district in Hampshire, England. It is 2 miles (3 km) west of the New Fores ...
(includes salmon huts, farmhouses and extensive water meadows)
*
Avon Tyrrell House
Avon Tyrrell is an historic manor within the parish of Sopley, Hampshire. It is situated within the New Forest, near Christchurch. The present manor house was built in 1891 by John Manners-Sutton, 3rd Baron Manners (1852–1927).
Avon Tyrrell ...
, Sopley (includes lodge and gazebo)
Scheduled monument landscapes
The largest of this type is England's main
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
of this category, which includes
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
.
Others include massive earthworks at
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
, and across the larger, separate Thornham Down area.
Settlements
Wiltshire
*
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
*
East and West Chisenbury
*
Enford
Enford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the northeast of Salisbury Plain. The village lies southeast of Devizes and north of Salisbury. The parish includes nine small settlements along both banks of the headwaters of the ...
*
Coombe
*
Fittleton
__NOTOC__
Fittleton cum Haxton is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, north of Salisbury. The parish contains the adjacent settlements of Fittleton and Haxton, which lie on the east bank of the River Avon opposite the village and parish of ...
*
Haxton
*
Netheravon
Netheravon is a village and civil parish on the River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain.
The village is on the right (west) bank of the Avon, opposite Fit ...
*
Figheldean
Figheldean is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Avon (Hampshire), River Avon, north of Amesbury in Wiltshire, England.
Figheldean parish extends east of the village towards Tidworth as far as Devil's Ditch an ...
*
Milston
__NOTOC__
Milston is a hamlet and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about north of Salisbury and separated from Durrington by the River Avon. The parish covers two hamlets, Milston and Brigmerston, along with farm buildings on Salisbury Plai ...
*
Durrington
*
Bulford
Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...
*
Amesbury
Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...
*
West Amesbury
*
Wilsford cum Lake
*
Great Durnford
*
The Woodfords
*
Little Durnford
*
Stratford-sub-Castle
Stratford-sub-Castle in Wiltshire, England was anciently a separate village and civil parish but since 1954 has been a northern suburb of the city of Salisbury. At approximately 170 ft above sea level, it is dominated to the east by the r ...
*
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 Wil ...
*
Britford
Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.
Geography
...
*
Bodenham
Bodenham is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, and on a bend in the River Lugg, about seven miles south of Leominster. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,024, reducing to 998 at the 2011 census.
The vill ...
*
Charlton All Saints
*
Downton
Hampshire
*
Breamore
Breamore ( ) is a village and civil parish near Fordingbridge in Hampshire, England. The parish includes a notable Elizabethan country house, Breamore House, built with an E-shaped ground plan. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary h ...
*
Burgate
Burgate is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about south-west of Diss in Norfolk. The church, dedicated to St Mary and dating from the 14th century, was restored in 1864 and is a Grade II* listed ...
*
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 ...
*
Bickton
Bickton is a hamlet in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England. It is within the civil parish of Fordingbridge and is situated by the River Avon.
Overview
Bickton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Fordingbridge, next to the River Avon. ...
*
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 ...
*
Ringwood
*
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 ...
Dorset
*
St Ives
*
Burton
*
Fairmile
*
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
Designations
In 1993 the Avon valley in Hampshire between
Bickton
Bickton is a hamlet in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England. It is within the civil parish of Fordingbridge and is situated by the River Avon.
Overview
Bickton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Fordingbridge, next to the River Avon. ...
(downstream 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
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
was designated as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI).
In 1996 almost the entire river, from
Patney
__NOTOC__
Patney is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey about south-east of Devizes.
The infant Salisbury Avon forms part of the southern boundary of the parish.
Religious sites
The nearest Anglican c ...
(Wiltshire) to Christchurch, together with its tributaries the
Wylye
Wylye () is a village and civil parish on the River Wylye in Wiltshire, England. The village is about northwest of Salisbury and a similar distance southeast of Warminster.
The parish extends north and south of the river, and includes the h ...
,
Nadder,
Bourne
Bourne may refer to:
Places UK
* Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town
** Bourne Abbey
** Bourne railway station
* Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex
* Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset
* Bourne ...
and Dockens Water, was designated as the
River Avon System SSSI.
Conservation initiatives in the 2000s
A four-year project called STREAM began in September 2005. This £1 million project was designed to benefit the habitats of species such as
water-crowfoot
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed in Europe, ...
,
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...
,
brook lamprey
The brook lamprey (''Lampetra planeri'', also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey) is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, ...
,
sea lamprey
The sea lamprey (''Petromyzon marinus'') is a parasitic lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is sometimes referred to as the "vampire fish".
Description
The sea lamprey has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, ro ...
,
bullhead,
Desmoulin's whorl snail
Desmoulin's whorl snail (''Vertigo moulinsiana'') is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails.
This species was named in honor of the ea ...
,
gadwall
The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.
Taxonomy
The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...
and ''
Cygnus columbianus
The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the ...
'' (Berwick's swan). A sister project called Living River ran from 2006 to 2010, aiming to providing better access and recreation, as well as aid biodiversity. Both these projects were shortlisted for the 200
Thiess International Riverprize competing against four other projects: the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
in China,
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
in Canada, the
Polochic Basin in Guatemala and the Lower
Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
in the USA. The prize for 2009 was awarded to Lake Simcoe.
2009 International Theiss River''prize''
/ref>
See also
*Other Rivers Avon
*Rivers of the United Kingdom
For details of rivers of the United Kingdom, see
* List of rivers of England
* List of rivers of Scotland
* List of rivers of Wales
* Northern Ireland: see List of rivers of Ireland and Rivers of Ireland
* Longest rivers of the United Kingdom
Ov ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avon, Hampshire
Rivers of Dorset
Rivers of Hampshire
Rivers of Wiltshire
Nature Conservation Review sites
Rivers of Christchurch, Dorset
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire
Ramsar sites in England
1Avon