Editing River Avon, Hampshire (section)

==Course==
[[File:River Avon near Fordingbridge.jpg|thumb|The start of the lower half, near Fordingbridge]]
The Avon begins as two separate bodies of water. The western arm [[source (river)|rises]] to the east of [[Devizes]], draining the [[Vale of Pewsey]], and is joined by Etchilhampton Water which rises in the [[Bishops Cannings]] area and flows south past [[Etchilhampton]] and through [[Patney]].<ref name="west">{{cite web|title=Hampshire Avon (West)|url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB108043022370|access-date=12 April 2021|website=Catchment Data Explorer|publisher=Environment Agency}}</ref>  The eastern arm rises at [[Easton Royal]], east of [[Pewsey]], and is joined by the Woodborough Stream which rises at [[Alton Priors]] and flows south through [[Woodborough, Wiltshire|Woodborough]] and [[North Newnton]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hampshire Avon (East) and Woodborough Stream|url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB108043022410|access-date=12 April 2021|website=Catchment Data Explorer|publisher=Environment Agency}}</ref>

The two branches merge at [[Upavon]],<ref name="west" /> flowing southwards across [[Salisbury Plain]] through [[Durrington, Wiltshire|Durrington]], [[Amesbury]] and [[Salisbury]]. To the south of Salisbury the river enters the [[Hampshire Basin]], flowing along the western edge of the [[New Forest]] through [[Fordingbridge]] and [[Ringwood, Hampshire|Ringwood]], meeting up with the [[River Stour, Dorset|River Stour]] at [[Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch]], to flow into [[Christchurch Harbour]]. The harbour opens into the [[English Channel]] past a cluster of small mouths of brooks from the New Forest and a broad sandbank, which is all built up as the [[Mudeford]] part of the harbour.

All the significant direct and indirect tributaries of the Avon, including the [[River Nadder|Nadder]], [[River Wylye|Wylye]], [[River Bourne, Wiltshire|Bourne]] and [[River Ebble|Ebble]], converge within a short distance around Salisbury.

A short distance north from the river's western source is [[Morgan's Hill]], which marks the hydrological [[triple divide]] of Great Britain, where rainfall drains into the English Channel (via this River Avon), the [[Atlantic Ocean]] (via the [[River Avon, Bristol|Bristol Avon]] and [[Severn Estuary]]) and the [[North Sea]] (via the [[River Kennet|Kennet]] and [[River Thames|Thames]]).

About half of the river is in Wiltshire; the rest is split between Hampshire and (since the [[Local Government Act 1972|1974 boundary changes]]) Dorset.

As two Avons drain parts of Wiltshire, the river is popularly known as the Hampshire Avon or the Salisbury Avon (and the other as the [[River Avon, Bristol|Bristol Avon]]).