Moorings on the River Avon (Hampshire)

The Hampshire Avon rises in Wiltshire and flows through Salisbury, then runs south along the western edge of the New Forest past Fordingbridge and Ringwood to Christchurch in Dorset. There it meets the River Stour and enters Christchurch Harbour, which opens to the English Channel through a narrow channel called the Run.

The river has a long boating history. In Saxon times boats could travel from the harbour up to Salisbury, and an Act of 1664 set out to make the river navigable from Christchurch to Salisbury. Today only the lowest reach is used: shallow-draught boats can go about 3 km upstream from the harbour. The harbour is generally shallow with a double high water, and the bar at the Run can have less than 0.5 m at low water springs, so deeper boats are not suited to it.

Moorings on the Avon are on the lower river at Christchurch, which, with the Stour and the harbour, has many marinas, boat clubs and landing stages. BCP Council is one of several organisations managing moorings in the harbour and rivers, with licences running from 1 April each year.