The River Test is a
chalk stream in
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 ...
in the
south of England. It rises at
Ashe near
Basingstoke and flows southwards for to
Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of
Stockbridge and
Romsey. Below the village of
Longparish, the river is broadly followed by the
Test Way, a long-distance footpath.
Much of the Test is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest.
It is part of the Solent and Southampton Water
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
** Special Protection Area. The river is used for fly fishing for trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-sa ...
from its source to its tidal limit.
Etymology
Recorded forms are Terstan from 877 and 901, Tarstan stream in 1045, Terstein 1234, and Test in 1425. If Common Brittonic, not Old English, all related dictionaries show three suitable words beginning with Tre- and none with extremely rare Ter-. There is precedent to such metathesis: as for the river Tern in the far west, from tren 'strong'.[ If so it most likely relates to the ]Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
*