River Loddon

Loddon
River Loddon near Stratfield Saye
Inflow to the Thames, south of Wargrave
Location
Country	England
Counties	Hampshire (ceremonial and administrative), Berkshire (ceremonial only)
Districts / Boroughs	Basingstoke and Deane (Borough), Hart District (brief border), Wokingham Borough, West Berkshire (brief border)
Town, suburban towns and small town	Basingstoke, Earley, Woodley, Twyford
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Basingstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom
• coordinates	51°15′53″N 1°06′57″W / 51.264614°N 1.115713°W / 51.264614; -1.115713
• elevation	100 m (330 ft)
Mouth	River Thames
• location	Wargrave, Berkshire, United Kingdom
• coordinates	51°30′06″N 0°52′48″W / 51.50169°N 0.880001°W / 51.50169; -0.880001
• elevation	33 m (108 ft)
Length	45 km (28 mi)
Basin size	1,036 km2 (400 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Sheepbridge
• average	2.16 m3/s (76 cu ft/s)
• minimum	0.52 m3/s (18 cu ft/s)26 August 1976
• maximum	26.4 m3/s (930 cu ft/s)16 September 1986
Basin features
Progression	Loddon, Thames
River system	Thames Basin
Tributaries
• left	Bow Brook, St Patrick's Stream
• right	Lyde River, River Blackwater, Barkham Brook, Emm Brook, Twyford Brook

v t e River Loddon
Legend
River Thames, Shiplake Lock St Patrick's Stream Wargrave STW  A4  road bridges  A3032  road bridges Twyford Brook Twyford Flour Mill Culverts under Weaver Way Henley branch line Loddon Nature Reserve Twyford railway station Great Western Main Line Gravel Pits Twyford Brook site of Whistley Mill Old River Emm Brook Sandford Mill Sandford Lane bridges Dinton Pastures Country Park  A3290  road +  A329(M)   B3030  road bridge  M4  Winnersh railway stations Waterloo–Reading line  A329  Loddon Bridge Emm Brook Sindlesham Mill Mill Lane bridges  M4  bridge Barkham Brook Arborfield Mill  A327  Arborfield Bridge River Blackwater Swallowfield Sheepbridge Mill  B3349  Sheep Bridge  A33  road bridge Stanfordend Mill Stanfordend Bridge Broadford Bridge Bow Brook Sherfield on Loddon  A33  Long Bridge Longbridge Mill Lyde River Hartley Mill Lyde River Petty's Brook Basingstoke STW Lower Mill Pyotts Hill Bridge Bartons Mill Basingstoke railway station South West Main Line  A339  road bridge Basingstoke corn mill Culvert under Festival Place Upper Mill Springs

The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for 28 miles (45 km) to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of 400 square miles (1,036 km²).^[1]

The river had many active mills, and has many remnants of flow modifications by the building up of mill pond reaches with weirs and sluices and the adjacent mill races (also called leats). Most of these used wheels to generate their power – two used water turbines. One was a silk mill for a short period, and one a paper mill, with the rest milling corn or producing flour. Several have been converted to become homes or hotels, but Longbridge Mill has been restored and still operates occasionally. The river has been used for recreational and possibly minor commercial navigation and in drier spells it can be safely canoed in some places.^{[citation needed]}

The Loddon is a habitat for diverse wildlife. Former gravel workings have become Loddon Nature Reserve and Dinton Pastures Country Park. A section of it is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest due to rare populations of bulbs and pondweed. Improvements made to the river under the Water Framework Directive, have included the installation of a fish bypass at Arborfield Mill for migratory species including salmon.