Watercress and Winterbournes

The Rivers Test and Itchen are iconic features of the Hampshire landscape, but the chalk streams that give them life are some of the greatest hidden treasures in the county. These beautiful waters go by many names in our area, from brooks and rivulets to sources and headwaters. Those that only flow during the wet winter months have another name again: these are known as winterbournes.

With only around 200 existing worldwide, and most of those in England, chalk streams provide an ecologically rare home for a whole host of wonderful wildlife. Here in Hampshire their cool, oxygenated, alkaline waters provide a uniquely perfect habitat for species like water voles, brown trout, southern damselflies, water crowfoot, and endangered white-clawed crayfish.

Our streams also have another story to tell: that of a landscape shaped by centuries of human activity. Adjacent fields are marked with strange patterns from old water meadows, while mysterious riverside structures speak of trades ranging from gin distilling to paper production. Today many of these historic industries continue, with our area being famous for watercress growing and fly fishing.

With the help of local communities and 14 partner organisations, we want to tell the stories of this vibrant past and build a future to be proud of. Our landscape partnership, Watercress & Winterbournes, has been laying the foundations for this, and we'd like to thank the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their generous support of our work so far.

If we're successful in applying for further funding the partnership will run until 2025. Over five exciting years we’ll improve habitats, protect vulnerable species, and address key pressures like pollution and flooding. We’ll celebrate the ways in which our chalk streams have inspired people past and present, and raise awareness about the incredible wildlife that calls them home.