River guide

River Test in Hampshire

4 checked stretches so far — day tickets, club waters and guest tickets, each checked against the club's own pages.

The lowdown

The River Test is a chalk stream running through Hampshire, and the holder identifies it as an SSSI. Its clear, steady character is closely tied to technical dry-fly fishing, with presentation and a quiet approach well rewarded.

Around Kimbridge, the fishing is managed as a mixture of river and carrier water, with the Meadow Fishery’s four streams offering plenty of bank to explore. Trout, wild brown trout, salmon and sea trout are named in the estate’s river-management information.

Close season reminder

Coarse fishing on English rivers is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. That's the law for coarse fish on rivers — it's not a club rule, and game-fishing seasons work differently.

GOV.UK — Freshwater rod fishing rules: when and where you can fish

Stretches

4 of 4 checked stretches. No rankings — we don't know which is "best" on your day, and neither does anyone else.

Pins mark the access postcode each club gives, not the bank itself. Exact boundary map: see rights holder.

Access & tickets

Standard day ticket

Kimbridge Estate / Kimbridge on the Test

Up to four individual rods; includes VAT.

£125 per rod including VAT (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Kimbridge Meadow Fishery

Exclusive private-group booking

Kimbridge Estate / Kimbridge on the Test

Allows up to six rods.

Covers: Kimbridge Meadow Fishery

Optional tackle hire

Kimbridge Estate / Kimbridge on the Test

Available per person.

£20 per person (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Kimbridge Meadow Fishery

Day ticket

Glorious Game Sporting Co.

Fly fishing day on the private-estate River Test; maximum two rods per beat.

from £280 per rod (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Glorious Game Private Estate River Test

Standard river day ticket

Leckford Estate

River day rod, per rod per day

£260 per rod per day (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Leckford Estate River Test Beat 1 (Mayfly Beat)

Peak-season river day ticket

Leckford Estate

Peak-season river day rod, per rod per day

£315 per rod per day (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Leckford Estate River Test Beat 1 (Mayfly Beat)

River season rods

Leckford Estate

Full-season or half-season rod

£4,950 per rod per season / £2,600 per rod per season (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Leckford Estate River Test Beat 1 (Mayfly Beat)

2026 standard day-rod pass — 13 April to 14 May

Bossington Estate

Day rod; normally minimum booking of two rods per beat.

£328 per rod (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Bossington Home Beat, River Test

2026 standard day-rod pass — 15 May to 12 June

Bossington Estate

Day rod; normally minimum booking of two rods per beat.

£398 per rod (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Bossington Home Beat, River Test

2026 standard day-rod pass — 13 June to 11 October

Bossington Estate

Day rod; normally minimum booking of two rods per beat.

£328 per rod (as listed 12/10/2026)

Covers: Bossington Home Beat, River Test

Species

We only tag a stretch with a fish when the club names it. Some clubs name fish across all their water rather than stretch by stretch — those are flagged on the card.

● named by the club for this stretch · ●* named across the club's waters · blank = not named (not "absent").

Rules — who runs what

Kimbridge Estate / Kimbridge on the Test

Individual anglers and groups can book fishing days on any available date during the season. The standard day ticket is £125 per rod including VAT; exclusive private-group bookings allow up to six rods.

Glorious Game Sporting Co.

Fishing is available to book as a day on the River Test through Glorious Game Sporting Co. Day-ticket prices start from £280 per rod; hamper lunches or on-bank catering can be arranged by prior arrangement.

Leckford Estate

Leckford Estate offers river day rods through its online booking system. Season rods are also published, with full-season and half-season options.

Bossington Estate

Day-rod passes are booked through the Bossington Estate Office. There is normally a minimum booking of two rods per beat; the published pricing sheet does not list a Home Beat exception for single rods.

Fished the river recently?

Pick the stretch you fished and add a 20-second update there — one stretch at a time keeps it useful.

Each stretch page lists its own key rules. You'll need an Environment Agency rod licence on all of them.

River levels

Measured readings straight from the Environment Agency. These are the nearest gauges we've matched — not readings from the stretches themselves.

Measured — Environment Agency

Oxlease gauge

Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.

Loading latest reading…

We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready

Measured — Environment Agency

Stockbridge Side gauge

Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.

Loading latest reading…

We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready

Measured — Environment Agency

Chilbolton Main gauge

Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.

Loading latest reading…

We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready

Tips & reports

Our take (editorial, not club advice): on any decent-sized river, a lead that holds bottom without dragging is half the battle — go up in weight before you go up in bait. A bit of extra colour after rain often brings barbel and bream closer in, but a fast-rising, debris-filled river is dangerous; if in doubt, don't. Weather tools built for still lakes don't translate neatly to rivers, so we haven't bolted a lake-style weather score on here.

No angler reports on these stretches yet — we'll only show real ones once our moderated river reports are live.

Where this comes from · checked 12 Oct 2026

Rules, prices and ticket availability change — the rights holder's own page always wins.