River Enborne

The River Enborne forms much of the border of Berkshire to the north with Hampshire to the south.

The river rises near the villages of Inkpen and West Woodhay in Berkshire (51°22’13"N, 1°27’32"W), close to the meeting of Berkshire, Hampshire and Wiltshire, and flows steadily eastward until it makes a sudden north-eastward turn, and ultimately it loses its waters in the River Kennet at Aldermaston Wharf, in Berkshire (51°23’29"N, 1°9’10"W). The river is formed by a series of little brooks rising from wells on the chalk hills either side of the Berkshire and Hampshire border.

The river shares a name with a parish on its course, Enborne, albeit that village is away from the river: only its hamlet, Enborne Row in on the riverbank. The river may be named from the village, and the village form another bourn.

Geography

From its source near the villages of Inkpen and Woodhay, the Enborne flows eastwards. At Smith's Bridge, near Holtwood the river begins to form the boundary between Berkshire and Hampshire, which duty it performs for most of its course, swelling as it goes.

Eastwards, the river is crossed by the A34 (Newbury bypass) at Enborne Row. Near here, to the south, are two woodlands managed by the National Trust: "The Chase" and "Great Pen Wood".

Further downstream the river passes to the south of Greenham Common, and here, near Headley, the river is joined by a tributary from the South, from Ecchinswell and Watership Down Hill.

The river leaves off marking the county border at Hyde End near Crookham, and from here the Enborne turns northwards into the body of Berkshire. Past Brimpton it enters the meadows around the River Kennet and meanders through these eastwards across open farmland and Brimpton Common, to join the main stream of the River Kennet near Aldermaston Wharf.

The river in fiction

The river plays a significant part in Richard Adams' novel, Watership Down. Early in the book, the rabbits from Sandleford are threatened by a dog. Blackberry realises that they can float across on a wooden board, and thus they make their escape.^[1]