River Alre River Arle | |
---|---|
Etymology | A back formation from Alresford |
Location | |
Country | England |
County | Hampshire |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | east end of Bishop's Sutton, Hampshire |
• coordinates | 51°4′56″N 1°7′11″W / 51.08222°N 1.11972°W |
• elevation | 72 m (236 ft) |
Mouth | River Itchen |
• location | near New Alresford, Hampshire |
• coordinates | 51°5′16″N 1°11′2.9″W / 51.08778°N 1.184139°W |
• elevation | 51 m (167 ft) |
Length | 6.0 km (3.7 mi) |
Basin size | 56.31 km2 (21.74 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | New Alresford |
Basin features | |
Progression | Alre, Itchen, Southampton Water arm of The Solent (English Channel) |
River system | Itchen basin |
The River Alre (also, occasionally, Arle[1]) is a tributary of the River Itchen in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises in Bishop's Sutton and flows west for 6 km (3.7 mi) to meet the Itchen below New Alresford.
The river is a classic English chalk stream with a shallow gravel bed and fast flowing waters, fed year-round by chalk springs. Through Bishop's Sutton it forms a good natural trout fishery and later supports a watercress harvest after which the Watercress Line, a heritage steam railway, is named.[2]