A Protected River Environment

The River Avon rises in the Vale of Pewsey and flows through Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset to the sea at Christchurch.

The River Avon and its tributaries form one of the most diverse chalk stream systems in Europe, and support a wide range of fish, birds, mammals and plant species. They are designated as:

• Special Area of Conservation (SAC): for its watercourse habitat (largely dominated by water crowfoot), and populations of rare or threatened species, such as sea and brook lamprey, bullhead, Atlantic salmon and Desmoulins' whorl snail. SACs are of European importance for nature conservation and receive the highest level of legal protection
• Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI), supporting important biodiversity action plan species and habitats such as otter, water vole, wet woodland and reed beds and forming part of the nation’s finest natural heritage

The lower reaches of the Avon valley, between Bicton and Christchurch, displays wide fluctuations in water level and parts of the valley are regularly flooded in winter. Consequently, the valley includes one of the largest expanses of unimproved floodplain grassland in Britain, including extensive areas managed as hay meadows and grazing marsh. It is designated as:

• Special Protection Area (SPA) for wintering Bewick's swans and Gadwall of European importance.
• Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) floodplain grazing marsh supporting a complex mosaic of wetland habitats, breeding waders and wintering wildfowl. Notable for a wide range of breeding wetland birds, rare plants and wetland insects