River Alre

River Alre River Arle
Alre Valley
The river as shown on a 19th century OS map
Confluence into the Itchen, in Hampshire
Etymology	alder (a tree)
Location
Country	England
County	Hampshire
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	east end of Bishop's Sutton, Hampshire
• coordinates	51°4′56″N 1°7′11″W / 51.08222°N 1.11972°W / 51.08222; -1.11972
• elevation	72 m (236 ft)
Mouth	River Itchen
• location	near New Alresford, Hampshire
• coordinates	51°5′16″N 1°11′2.9″W / 51.08778°N 1.184139°W / 51.08778; -1.184139
• elevation	51 m (167 ft)
Length	6.0 km (3.7 mi)
Basin size	56.31 km2 (21.74 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	New Alresford
Basin features
Progression	Alre, Itchen, Southampton Water arm of The Solent (English Channel)
River system	Itchen basin

The River Alre (also, occasionally, Arle^[1]) is a tributary of the River Itchen in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises in Bishop's Sutton and flows west for 6 km (3.7 mi) to meet the Itchen below New Alresford.

The river is a classic English chalk stream with a shallow gravel bed and fast flowing waters, fed year-round by chalk springs. Through Bishop's Sutton it forms a good natural trout fishery and later supports a watercress harvest after which the Watercress Line, a heritage steam railway, is named.^[2]