The Sydling Water is an eight km (five mile) long river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, which flows from north to south from Up Sydling

Up Sydling

Up Sydling is a hamlet in west Dorset, England, at the head of Sydling Water, a tributary of the River Frome, ten miles north of Dorchester. The hamlet is in the parish of Sydling St Nicholas, about a mile north of the village....

 until it joins the River Frome

River Frome, Dorset

The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.-Geography:...

 near Grimstone

Grimstone

Grimstone is a hamlet at the confluence of Sydling Water and the River Frome in the western part of the civil parish of Stratton, Dorset.The Great Western Railway opened Grimstone and Frampton railway station and Grimstone Viaduct in 1857 and British Railways closed the station in 1966.Grimstone's...

.

The source of the river is a spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 at Up Sydling

Up Sydling

Up Sydling is a hamlet in west Dorset, England, at the head of Sydling Water, a tributary of the River Frome, ten miles north of Dorchester. The hamlet is in the parish of Sydling St Nicholas, about a mile north of the village....

. It passes the deserted mediaeval village of Elston and is then crossed at a ford

Ford (crossing)

A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...

 by the road from Marrs Cross to Cerne Abbas

Cerne Abbas

Cerne Abbas is a village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in central Dorset, England. The village is located just to the east of the A352 road north of Dorchester. There was a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.In...

. It then flows through the village of Sydling St Nicholas

Sydling St Nicholas

Sydling St Nicholas is a village in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is situated in the West Dorset district of the county, about nine miles northwest of the county town of Dorchester. It is sited on Sydling Water, a tributary of the River Frome. Sydling Water divides upon entering the...

 and through rural countryside until it goes under Grimstone Viaduct

Grimstone Viaduct

The Grimstone Viaduct is a railway bridge on the Castle Cary-Weymouth "Heart of Wessex" line. It passes over the road from Grimstone to Sydling St. Nicholas and Sydling Water flows underneath it. It is in the hamlet of Grimstone at the western edge of the parish of Stratton.The viaduct is directly...

 and soon afterwards into the River Frome

River Frome, Dorset

The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.-Geography:...

 near Grimstone

Grimstone

Grimstone is a hamlet at the confluence of Sydling Water and the River Frome in the western part of the civil parish of Stratton, Dorset.The Great Western Railway opened Grimstone and Frampton railway station and Grimstone Viaduct in 1857 and British Railways closed the station in 1966.Grimstone's...

. The 'valley road' south of the village of Sydling St Nicholas closely follows the river until it reaches Grimstone.

The river is known for its watercress

Watercress

Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings...

 farms and trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

. Grey Heron

Grey Heron

The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...

 and Little Egret

Little Egret

The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....

are common sights.