13/08/2012 |
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Virginia Water is a lake at the southern edge of Windsor Great Park. It was created by damming the River Bourne in 1753 and now looks completely natural. We used the car park off the A30 and had a very pleasant stroll of about 4.5 miles around the lake. The Great Park is a Royal Park which stretches from here to Windsor Castle. Apart from the scenery there was a lot of wildlife in evidence. This first photo is of the 100' tall totem pole given to HM the Queen by British Columbia.
Detail of the carving on the totem pole.
As we moved on from the totem pole a Roe Deer doe ran through the trees then across the pathway, a real surprise to see such a shy animal so close to large numbers of people. I got these three pictures despite being taken by surprise and having the wrong lens on the camera.
A pleasant landscape garden area not far along from the totem pole.
These two views of part of the lake are out of sequence being between the car park and the totem pole.
More wildlife, a hen pheasant feeding in the grass.
An opening in the trees that cover much of this part of the Park.
We then crossed over this bridge over Virginia Water lake.
After crossing the bridge we saw these four horse riders enjoying the opportunity for a traffic free ride.
A heron glimpsed through the trees.
A close up of the heron fishing in an arm of the lake.
Two views of part of the lake - these and those of the heron were taken on a different visit when the sun was notable by its absence unlike our later visit.
Back to the sunny visit and another part of the lake and its wooded shores.
A Great Crested Grebe on Virginia Water.
There's a pleasantly surprising amount of wildlife around Virginia Water, this is a Cormorant perched on branch of a fallen tree drying between fishing dives.
There used to be a summer house here but this is all the visible remains.
A view across the lake to a cottage on the far bank.
Zoomed in you can see the geese grazing the grass next to the cottage.
Three more views across Virginia Water.
While I was taking the above photos a family of swans came over to investigate us.
A folly - a ‘Roman temple’ built from columns and lintels brought from the ancient city of Leptis Magna in the early 19th century. I think the A329 road runs over the bridge!
Turning round, more "ruins" leading down to the lake.
Sunshine and shadows across an inlet of Virginia Water lake.
The cascade over the dam that holds back the waters of the River Bourne to create the lake - quite an adventure playground for children!
Visit our Travel Centre for train, ferry and tunnel bookings.
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This site was last updated 13/08/2012