Abbey Water

The Market Square in Romsey is bounded on all sides by shops, offices and banks with a central area occupied by a statue of Lord Palmerston, one time Prime Minister who lived on the edge of the town.
But less obvious is the fact that it is bounded on two sides by streams which eventually run into the River Test.
Less obvious because when in the Market Square you would not know they exist because they run in tunnels beneath the road and the basements of the shops and two of the banks.
Today’s PolaroidBlip is where one of the streams emerges into the open again at a thoroughfare known as Abbey Water — a few houses, a former mill and running alongside the United Reform Church, part of the religious commune around the ancient Abbey itself.
The stream itself at this point is little used, except by the ducks. It’s fairly shallow and provides an attractive and tranquil setting for this part of the town.

The other stream on the opposite site of the Market place emerges from a similar tunnel alongside the town’s one department store and separates the store from the town’s bus station.