The River Axe is a 22-mile (35 km) lowland river flowing through the counties of Dorset, Somerset, and Devon in southwest England, rising near Chedington in Dorset and emptying into Lyme Bay at Seaton, Devon. Its very name speaks to its character — derived from a Common Brittonic word meaning "abounding in fish," cognate with the Welsh word for fish — and the river lives up to that heritage. Designated both a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the Axe is recognized as a nationally and European-significant waterway. The riverbed is composed of alluvium with areas of valley gravel, clay, shale, and marl, and the river meanders freely through its floodplain south of Axminster — a geomorphological feature of particular scientific interest. It is a shallow, non-navigable river characterized by active lowland river habitat types, supporting a wide variety of plant, fish, and invertebrate communities. The riparian corridor is rich with wildlife, including otters, kingfishers, dippers, grey wagtails, reed buntings, and green sandpipers, making every outing on the Axe as much a wildlife experience as a fishing one.