River Avon, Hampshire

The River Avon is a river in the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset in the south of England, sometimes distinguished as the "Salisbury Avon" or the "Hampshire Avon".It is regarded as one of the most legendary river fishing destinations in England, particularly for Barbel (Barbus barbus).

Etymology

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

Course

The Avon rises in Wiltshire east of Devizes, draining the Vale of Pewsey. From here it cuts through the chalk scarp 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. In total, the length of the River Avon is 96km (60 miles) [Collins English Dictionary] .

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

For part of its path it forms the border between Dorset and Hampshire. Prior to the 1974 reorganization of local government the whole of the section now in or bordering Dorset was wholly within Hampshire, leading to the river being popularly known as the Hampshire Avon.

The Avon Valley Path goes from Salisbury to Christchurch.

Rights of Use

The public have right of way to use established footpaths across private land in England. No such general right of way exists for the navigability of rivers on private land. 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", enacted in 1664 under Charles II. Cases have yet to come to court. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6387319.stm BBC NEWS | England | 1664 law could prove right to row ] ]

References

See also

*Other River Avons
*Rivers of the United Kingdom