River Itchen, Hampshire
Overview
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
below the Itchen Bridge
Itchen Bridge
The Itchen Bridge is a bridge over the River Itchen in Southampton, Hampshire. It is a high-level hollow box girder bridge. It is located approximately 1 km from the river mouth. The bridge spans , is at its highest point and weighs 62,000 tons. It was officially opened July 13, 1977. At the...
in the city of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. The river has a total length of 28 miles (45.1 km), and is noted as one of England's - if not one of the World's - premier chalk stream
Chalk stream
Chalk streams have characteristics which set them apart from watercourses associated with other rock types.Aside from those with an interest in the geological and ecological disciplines, the term chalk stream is most widely used among a small group of fly fishermen ,...
s for fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
, especially using dry fly
Artificial fly
An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing . In general, artificial flies are the bait which fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing...
or nymphing techniques. It is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
and is noted for its high quality habitats, supporting a range of protected species including the threatened water vole,otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
, brook lamprey
Brook lamprey
The European brook lamprey is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater...
and white-clawed crayfish
Austropotamobius pallipes
Austropotamobius pallipes is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only species of crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.-Distribution and ecology:...
.
The river is managed by the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
, whilst the Port of Southampton
Port of Southampton
The Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England. It benefits from shelter provided by the Isle of Wight and Southampton Water, unique "double tides" and close proximity to the motorway and rail networks...
is the navigation authority for the tidal section below Swaythling
Swaythling
Swaythling was once a village but over the years it has gradually become a suburb and electoral ward of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,394....
.
During Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
, the river may have been associated with the Celtic goddess
Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
Ancasta
Ancasta
Ancasta was a Celtic goddess worshipped in Roman Britain. She is known from a single dedicatory inscription found in the United Kingdom at Bitterne, near Southampton...
.
The source of the Itchen is situated just south of the village of Cheriton
Cheriton, Hampshire
Cheriton Is a small village and civil parish located near the city of Winchester, in Hampshire, England. The settlement is perhaps most famous for being the location of the Battle of Cheriton in the English Civil War. Cheriton is also the Source of the River Itchen.Facilities and ServicesCheriton...
.
