The River Avon, also known as the River Aune, is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

in the southwest of England. It rises in the southern half of

Dartmoor National Park Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

in an area of bog to the west of

Ryder's Hill At 515 m, Ryder's Hill is the highest point on the southern part of Dartmoor, Devon, England. On its summit there are two standing stones and a low cairn, on top of which is a triangulation pillar. One of the standing stones is called Petre ...

. Close to where the river leaves Dartmoor a dam was built in 1957 to form the Avon reservoir (see

Dartmoor reservoirs Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, several reservoirs and dams were built in the area now covered by Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England to supply drinking water to the rapidly growing towns in the surrounding lowlands. With its ...

). After leaving the moor it passes through South Brent and then

Avonwick Avonwick is a village in the civil parish of North Huish, in the South Hams district, in the county of Devon, England. The River Avon runs through the settlement and the village's name derives from ''avon'' meaning ''river'', and ''wick'' an ol ...

and

Aveton Gifford Aveton Gifford is a small rural village in the south of the English county of Devon. It lies at the head of the estuary of the River Avon or Aune, at the point where it is crossed by the A379 road. It receives its name from this river and also ...

and flows into the sea at

Bigbury-on-Sea Bigbury-on-Sea is a village in the South Hams district on the south coast of Devon, England. It is part of the civil parish of Bigbury which is centred on a small village of that name about a mile inland. Bigbury-on-Sea village is on the coast ...

. Near

Loddiswell Loddiswell is a parish and village in the South Hams district of Devon, England. It lies on the west side of the River Avon or Aune and is three miles NNW from Kingsbridge. There is evidence of occupation going back to Roman times. The villages ...

the valley flows through Fosse Copse a woodland owned and managed by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

. The estuary lies within the

South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covers 337 square kilometres, including much of the South Hams area of Devon and the rugged coastline from Jennycliff Bay to Elberry Cove near Brixham. The purpose of an Area of Outstandi ...

and is part of the South Devon Heritage Coast. From 1893 until its closure in 1963, the

Kingsbridge branch line Kingsbridge branch line was a single track branch line railway in Devon, England. The railway, which became known as the Primrose Line, opened in 1893 and, despite local opposition, closed in 1963. It left the Exeter to Plymouth line at Brent ...

railway line ran along the valley of the Avon between

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the ab ...

and South Brent.

References

Rivers of Devon {{England-river-stub

See also

References