and is lined with quays The river rises near the village of
Ashe, to the west of
Basingstoke (at ), and flows west through the villages of
Overton,
Laverstoke, and the town of
Whitchurch, before joining with the
Bourne Rivulet at
Testbourne and turning in a more southerly direction. It then proceeds through the villages of
Longparish and
Middleton to
Wherwell and
Chilbolton, where the rivers
Dever and
Anton join. From Chilbolton the river goes through the villages of
Leckford,
Longstock,
Stockbridge and
Houghton to
Mottisfont and
Kimbridge, where the
River Dun joins the flow. From here the village of
Timsbury is passed, then the Test flows through the grounds of
Roke Manor before reaching the town of
Romsey. On the western edge of Romsey,
Sadler's Mill, an 18th-century
watermill, sits astride the River Test. South of Romsey, the river passes the
country house of
Broadlands, and then
Nursling, once the site of a
Roman bridge. Finally the river is joined by the
River Blackwater and soon becomes tidal, widening out into a considerable estuary that is lined on its northern bank by the
container terminals and
quays of the
Port of Southampton. The Test estuary then meets that of the
River Itchen and the two continue to the sea as
Southampton Water. Between Chilbolton and Redbridge, the river was once paralleled by the
Andover Canal, which was itself converted to a railway in 1865, and then in turn abandoned. Most traces of the canal have disappeared, although the remains of a stretch can still be seen between Timsbury and Romsey. ==Ecology==