Avon (Celt. 'river' or 'stream'), the name of several of the smaller British rivers. (1) The Upper or Warwickshire Avon rises at Naseby in Northamptonshire, runs 96 miles south-west through Warwickshire and Worcestershire, passing Rugby, Warwick, Stratford, and Evesham, and joins the Severn at Tewkesbury. It receives several tributaries, including the Swift from Lutterworth. - (2) The Lower or Bristol Avon rises in north-west Wiltshire, and runs 70 miles, first south in Wiltshire, and then west and northwest between Gloucestershire and Somerset, passing Bradford, Bath, and Bristol, to the Bristol Channel. It is navigable for large vessels up to Bristol. - (3) The Wiltshire and Hampshire or East Avon rises in the middle of Wiltshire, and runs south 70 miles through Wiltshire and Hampshire, passing Amesbury, Salisbury, and Ringwood, and entering the English Channel at Christchurch. It is navigable up to Salisbury. In Wales, two rivers named Avon - one rising in Monmouthshire, the other in Glamorganshire - fall into Swansea Bay. In Scotland there are several of the same name, affluents of the Spey, Clyde, and Forth. See also A'an.