River Avon

There are nine rivers which go by the name of Avon situated within Great Britain.

The name Avon, comes from the Brythonic language and stems from the word for river, which is abona. Brythonic was an ancient, insular Celtic language of the British Isles spoken between the Iron Age and the fifth century, by a race of people called Britons.

Therefore words River Avon, actually mean River River, which is a tautology, the mergence of two words that mean the same thing, taken from two different languages.

There are five River Avons in England, three River Avons in Scotland and one River Avon in Wales, although the Welsh river is spelled Afon Afan, which is another tautology which also means River River.

RIVER AVON - ENGLAND

1

The longest River Avon in the British Isles travels for eighty five miles through the English counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire, from it's source at Naseby in Northamptonshire until it merges with the River Severn at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.

This River Avon is also known as the Warwickshire Avon - as it travels through more of that county than any other - or Shakespeare's Avon - as it also travels through William Shakespeare's birthplace of Stratford - upon - Avon. It is here at Stratford - upon - Avon that the river connects with the twenty five mile long, Stratford and Avon Canal and is spanned by the fourteen arch, masonry bridge known as Clopton Bridge, built in 1480 by former Mayor Of London, Hugh Clopton.

The river passes through the Stanford Resevoir, situated near the village of Stanford on Avon on the Northamptonshire / Leicestershire border, through the Vale of Evesham and the large towns of Rugby, Warwick, Stratford - on - Avon, Evesham, Pershore and Tewkesbury.

The river's course is also accompanied by the eighty eight mile long, Shakespeare's Avon Way, walking path and the one hundred and nine mile long, Avon Ring, a navigable waterway with one hundred and twenty nine locks, situated between the river's source at Naseby to where it meets with the River Severn at Tewkesbury.

2

This River Avon, also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon, travels for seventy miles from it's source at Acron Turville near Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire until it merges with the River Severn at it's estuary at Avonmouth near the city of Bristol.

Although the distance between the river's source and mouth is only nineteen miles, the river is actually seventy five miles long owing to it's circular route which runs through the English counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset, passing through the towns of Malmesbury, Tetbury, Chippenham and Bradford on Avon and the cities of Bristol and Bath.

The river has many tributaries, including the Rivers Bliss, Chew, Frome, Marden, Tetbury Avon and Trym. The river also merges with the River Kennet at Bath to form part of the seventy nine mile long, Kennet and Avon Canal.

The river is navigable for most of it's route and is served by several locks and three weirs located at Bath, Kelston and Swineford. The river is also spanned by many bridges including the seventeeth century, Avoncliffe Viaduct, the seventeeth century Dundas Aqueduct, the Grade I Listed, stone built, five arch, sixteenth century Town Bridge at Bradford on Avon, the unusual, eighteenth century, Cleveland Bridge in Bath, the eighteenth century Pultney Bridge, also in Bath, the eighteenth century, Bristol Bridge, in Bristol, the modern pedestrian bascule bridge known as, Pero's Bridge, also in Bristol and the most famous of them all, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, pictured above, which spans the two hundred and forty five foot high, Avon Gorge.

The River Avon joins the River Severn Estuary in the City of Bristol after having passed through the city's floating harbour and network of lock gates, before eventually draining into the Bristol Channel.

There is a ferry service across the River Avon in the City of Bristol, for more details visit - bristolferry.com

3

Image courtesy of R.J Higginson, wikimedia commons.

This River Avon, also known as the Hampshire Avon or Salisbury Avon, is a sixty mile long river which rises at two locations, one at Devizes in Wiltshire and the other at Pewsey, also in Wiltshire, before merging at Upavon in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire. The river then travels through the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset on England's south coast before draining into the English Channel at Mudeford, in Dorset

After leaving the Vale of Pewsey the river travels south across Salisbury Plain, passing through the towns of Durrington and Amesbury and the City of Salisbury.

The river is accompanied by the thirty four mile long, Avon Valley Path, between Salisbury and Christchurch.The river then goes on to merge with the River Stour at Christchurch, where they both flow into Christchurch Harbour at Mudeford in Dorset, pictured above, situated on the English Channel. The estuary of these two rivers is both an important site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and part of a local nature reserve.

The river has several tributaries, including the Rivers Bourne, Ebble, Nadder and Wylie.

The river is served by several old bridges, including a three arch, stone bridge in the village of Ibsley in Hampshire and a six arch, masonry bridge situated at Fordingbridge also in Hampshire.

This River Avon is unique for having more species of fish than any other British river.

4

Image courtesy of Neil Geering, wikimedia commons

The River Avon in Hampshire, also known as Avon Water to distinguish it from the sixty mile long, River Avon described above which also flows through the county, is a nine mile long stretch of water which rises near Holmsley in the New Forest before flowing in a south easterly direction towards it's mouth on the Solent, situated not far from the shingle bank at Keyhaven which leads to the sixteenth century, Hurst Castle.

Avon Water is the shortest of the three main rivers, along with the fourteen mile long, River Lymington, and the twelve mile long, Beaulieu Water, which drain the two hundred and nineteen square mile area of the New Forest.

5

Image courtesy of Chodhound, wikimedia commons

England's shortest River Avon is just seven miles long.

The river rises near Ryder's Hill, famous for it's standing stones and triangulation survey station, on the boggy moorlands of the three hundred and sixty eight square mile, Dartmoor National Park, in the county of Devon and flows in a southerly direction towards the south Devon coastal town of Bigbury - on - Sea, pictured above, where it drains out into the English Channel.

The river flows through the Devon villages of South Brent, Avonwick and Aveton Gifford and also forms part of the Avon Dam Resevoir, situated near South Brent, which was built in 1957.

The river is renowned for it's stocks of salmon and trout.

RIVER AVON - SCOTLAND

1

The longest River Avon in Scotland is the forty mile long river that rises on the foothills of Ben MacDui at Cragganmui and travels for ten miles before entering the remote and isolated Loch Avon, situated three thousand, seven hundred feet up on the Cairngorm Plateau of the Cairngorms National Park.

The river then travels on through the Forest of Glenavon and the Highland villages of Tomintoul, which sits at an altitude of three hundred and forty five meters, and Strathavon, before merging with the River Spey at Ballindalloch in Banffshire.

This River Avon is the longest tributary of Scotland's River Spey and is considered to be Scotland's finest salmon river.

2

Image courtesy of Alistair McMillan, wikimedia commons

Scotland's second longest River Avon is a twenty four mile long tributary of the River Clyde, also known as Avon Water. This river rises near the town of Irvine in Ayreshire and flows in a north easterly direction before merging with the River Clyde between the two Lanarkshire towns of Hamilton and Motherwell.

The river flows through part of the five nundred acre, Chatelherault Country Park in South Lanarkshire, famous for the ruins of the sixteenth century, Cadzow Castle, the eighteenth century, Duke of Hamilton's Hunting Lodge and the brick built viaduct known as the Duke's Bridge, pictured above.

The river also flows through the villages of Drumclog, Strathavan, Glassford, Stonehouse and Larkhall. The river also passes beneath both the Old Avon footbridge and the M74 Motorway, before merging with the River Clyde just outside Motherwell.

3

Scotland's shortest River Avon rises at Darvel near Cumbernault in Lanarkshire and travels for just eleven miles through the town of Avonbridge, through the special site of scientific interest (SSSI) at Avongorge and part of the one hundred and seventy acre, Muiravonside Country Park near Falkirk, before draining into the Firth of Forth at the former fishing port of Grangemouth on Scotland's east coast.

The river is spanned by the eight hundred and ten foot long, Avon Aqueduct, pictured above, which was designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1818 and 1822. It is the largest of it's kind in Scotland and the second largest in Britain. The aqueduct carries the thirty one and a half mile long Union Canal over the River Avon and is located outside the town of Linlithgow in West Lothian.

RIVER AVON - WALES