The River Test is a river

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. The river has a total length of 40 miles (64 km)

1 E4 m

To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10 and 100 kilometres . The myriametre is a deprecated unit name; the prefix myria- is obsolete, not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.Distances shorter than 10...

 and it flows through downland

Downland

A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....

 from its source near Ashe

Ashe, Hampshire

Ashe is a small and quiet village just west of Basingstoke, in Hampshire, England.-Governance:The village is part of the civil parish of Overton, and is part of the Overton, Laverstoke and Steventon ward of Basingstoke and Deane borough council. The borough council is a non-metropolitan district of...

, 10 km to the west of Basingstoke

Basingstoke

Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...

 (at ), to the sea at the head of 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...

. In its upper reaches it is a 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 ,...

, known throughout the world for the excellent quality of its 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...

 for trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

.

The river rises near the village of Ashe

Ashe, Hampshire

Ashe is a small and quiet village just west of Basingstoke, in Hampshire, England.-Governance:The village is part of the civil parish of Overton, and is part of the Overton, Laverstoke and Steventon ward of Basingstoke and Deane borough council. The borough council is a non-metropolitan district of...

, and flows west through the villages of Overton

Overton, Hampshire

Overton is a village and parish in Hampshire, England located west of the town of Basingstoke, and east of Andover and Whitchurch. The village of Quidhampton lies to the north of the village. The River Test rises 1 km to the east near the hamlet of Ashe....

, Laverstoke

Laverstoke

Laverstoke is a village in the north of Hampshire, England. It forms a parish with the nearby village of Freefolk.Businesses include Laverstoke Park Farm-Literature:...

, and the town of Whitchurch

Whitchurch, Hampshire

Whitchurch is a town in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, from Newbury, Berkshire, from Winchester, miles from Andover and miles from Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. Because of the amount of wildlife in and near the river, parts of the town are designated as...

, before joining with the Bourne Rivulet

Bourne Rivulet

The Bourne Rivulet is a river in the English county of Hampshire. It is a tributary of the River Test.The Bourne Rivulet is a seasonal chalk stream that rises and falls with the natural water table in the area. It usually rises in January and flows until around August each year...

 at Testbourne and turning into a more southerly direction.