Beaulieu River

Beaulieu River
River
The Beaulieu River at Longwater Lawn, near Lyndhurst
Country	England
Region	Hampshire
District	New Forest
Source
- location	Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Mouth
- location	Needs Oar Point, Hampshire
Length	20 km (12 mi)

The Beaulieu River /ˈbjuːli/, formerly known as the River Exe, is a small river flowing through the New Forest in the county of Hampshire in southern England. The river is some 12 miles (19 km) long, of which the last 4 miles (6 km) are tidal. Unusually, the entire river, including its bed, is owned by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.

The Beaulieu River rises near Lyndhurst (SU295090) in the centre of the New Forest, and flows east and then south across the forest heaths to the village of Beaulieu. At Beaulieu the river becomes tidal and once drove a tide mill in the village. Below Beaulieu the tidal river continues to flow south-east through the Forest, passing the village of Bucklers Hard and entering the sea at the Solent (SZ4397).

The tidal river below Beaulieu village is navigable to small craft. Bucklers Hard was once a significant shipbuilding centre, building many wooden sailing ships, both merchant and naval, including Nelson's Agamemnon.

Since 2000 the navigable channel at the entrance to the river has been marked by a lighthouse known as the Millennium Lighthouse or the Beaulieu River Beacon.