River Itchen

The queen of the chalkstreams, the River Itchen, runs 17 miles from source to sea, bubbling out of the ground in Cheriton, a quaint little Hampshire village that lies just on the outskirts of the South Downs National Park. 

Shortly downstream, the Tichborne, or ‘Cheriton Stream’ as it is known,  is joined by the Arle and the Candover Brook which amalgamate into the River Itchen near Alresford. From there it flows westward, descending through the rolling hills of rural Hampshire, and spilling out into the water meadows at Winnall Moors nature reserve, where it divides into myriad carrier streams on its slow and burbling approach to the medieval capital of Winchester.

The Itchen, like many of our precious chalkstreams, is a designated site of special scientific interest and special area of conservation for much of its path to the sea, so it comes as no surprise that it is a haven for wildlife; kingfishers, herons, otters and of course wild trout. The River Itchen is particularly famous for its wild trout fisheries, with many of its headwaters brimming with shoals of wild brown trout and grayling. 

Downstream of Winchester, the river is divided into two main channels, the River Itchen itself, and the famous Itchen Navigation, an extensive canal engineered in the 16th century for transportation and trade. Beyond that the river continues its journey south toward its middle and lower reaches, where it is renowned for chalkstream Atlantic salmon and sea trout that persist alongside indigenous coarse species such as chub and barbel.

Finally, the river completes its journey by spilling out into the estuary at Woodbridge Mill, where its brackish waters meet with those of the famous River Test in Southampton Water.