River Wylye

River Wylye
River
River Wylye at Norton Bavant
Country	England
Tributaries
- left	Chitterne Brook, River Till
Cities	Maiden Bradley, Warminster, Codford St Peter, Wilton
Source	Rodmead Farm
- location	Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, England
- elevation	148 m (486 ft)
- coordinates	51°07′25″N 2°18′11″W / 51.12361°N 2.30306°W
Mouth	Confluence with River Nadder
- location	Wilton, Wiltshire, England
- elevation	69 m (226 ft)
- coordinates	51°04′45″N 1°51′45″W / 51.07917°N 1.86250°WCoordinates: 51°04′45″N 1°51′45″W / 51.07917°N 1.86250°W
Length	45 km (28 mi)
Basin	470 km^2 (181 sq mi)
Discharge	for Chitterne Brook
- average	0.3 m^3/s (11 cu ft/s)
- max	0.6 m^3/s (21 cu ft/s)
- min	0.1 m^3/s (4 cu ft/s)

The River Wylye (/ˈwaɪli/ WY-lee) is a classic southern England chalk stream; champagne clear water flowing over gravel. Consequently, it is popular with anglers keen on fly fishing.^[1] A half-mile stretch of the river and three lakes in Warminster are a local nature reserve.^[2][3]

Course

The Wylye rises below the White Sheet Downs just south of Maiden Bradley in Wiltshire, and after flowing through the Deverill valley, forms the southern edge of Warminster. It then heads generally east south east, forming the Wylye Valley, into which the A36 road and the Wessex Main Line are also squeezed. The river passes through the parishes of Norton Bavant, Heytesbury, Knook, Upton Lovell, Boyton, Codford, Wylye and Wilton, near the southern edge of Salisbury Plain, and is fed by ephemeral, winterbourne streams so water flow can vary.^[4]

The river forms part of the River Avon catchment. At Wilton it joins the River Nadder and eventually drains to the sea at Christchurch as part of the Avon.

SSSI

In parts the river flows through various SSSI:^[5]

• Steeple Langford Down
• Wylye and Church Dean Downs

Wylye Valley

The Wylye valley is a picturesque valley dotted with small chocolate box villages composed of thatched cottages and stone-built pubs.

Miscellaneous

• A vineyard is located near the river's source.^[6]
• Both Wilton and Wiltshire (Wilton - shire) are named after the river. There is also a village of Wylye.
• It forms one of the five rivers referred to in the novel Sarum

Villages

The villages located on the River Wylye include (source to confluence):

• Kingston Deverill
• Monkton Deverill
• Brixton Deverill
• Longbridge Deverill
• Crockerton
• Norton Bavant
• Heytesbury
• Sutton Veny^[7]
• Upton Lovell
• Boyton
• Ashton Gifford (a Tything)
• Codford
• Stockton
• Bapton
• Wylye
• Hanging Langford
• Sherrington
• Great Wishford
• Wilton

References

1. "Fishing Breaks". Retrieved 20 November 2007.
2. "River Wylye". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England.
3. "Map of River Wylye". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England.
4. "IUCN" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
5. "English Nature". Retrieved 20 November 2007.
6. "W Wilts Tourism". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
7. "The Village of Sutton Veny, Wylye Valley". Retrieved 13 June 2008.

Sources

• Wiltshire.gov.uk - Chalk River Valleys