River Alre

Rising from chalk springs near Bishop's Sutton, the River Alre runs west for just under four miles through the heart of Hampshire before joining the River Itchen near Itchen Stoke and Ovington. A classic English chalk stream, it carries a shallow gravel bed and fast-flowing water fed year-round by chalk springs. The Alre runs just north of New Alresford, separating it from the smaller village of Old Alresford, passing beneath two historic water mills — Arle Mill and the Fulling Mill — as well as supporting active watercress farms. North-east of Alresford, one channel runs through Old Alresford Pond, an artificial 12th-century stew pond originally dug to provide fish for the Bishop of Winchester, now designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Through Bishop's Sutton the river forms a good natural trout fishery, and the water remains clear enough that fish can appear to be swimming in air. The limpid water means resident wild brown trout and grayling are quick to spot an approaching angler — careful wading and precise presentation are essential. Dry fly is the primary method, with hawthorn fly and grannom among the hatches that kick the season off, followed by mayfly from mid-May to early June, and a variety of caddis, olives, and terrestrials through summer. The season runs broadly from April through to early October for trout, with grayling fishing extending later into the year.

Western Court is, as far as is known, the only beat available to day rods on the River Alre, making access to this water genuinely rare. The Itchen is formed by the Alre, Tichborne, and Candover Brook coming together just below Alresford, so fishing the Alre puts an angler at the very headwaters of one of Hampshire's most celebrated chalk stream systems — a short river, but one with considerable history and character behind it.