Test Valley

Test Valley is a local government district in northern Hampshire, with Andover as its administrative centre and towns such as Romsey and Stockbridge. The River Test runs through the district and its chalk-stream tributaries support a long history of trout fishing and fishery management. Along the Test you can find the Leckford Estate on the riverbank near Stockbridge, managed by the John Lewis Partnership and working alongside farmland and water meadows. The valley pattern of river, meadow and low chalk downland shapes settlement and land use across the district.

The area combines market towns, villages and farmland with local services and small industry. Thruxton sits to the west hosting a motor racing circuit and an aerodrome that bring a different local economy to otherwise agricultural surroundings. Parts of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty extend into the district, and a network of public rights of way and riverside paths links villages to the valley landscape. Local planning balances housing needs, farming, and protection of the chalk-stream environment.