If Lake District is too far a distance, you can sample the miniature Virginia Water Lake in classy, elegant Royal part of Surrey. It's not as wild or huge as Windermere but it was the largest man made lake in the country when dug in 1753. The lake is probably named after the virgin Queen Elizabeth 1 but was the favourite spot of Queen Victoria who used to picnic here just like us. The walk around the lake takes couple of hours but there are plenty of historical landmarks along the trail plus the lovely Valley Gardens so it's easily a whole day out activity.

An absolutely beautiful park. Clean and tidy, good amenities, excellent signage, pricey parking as expected, good areas for picnicking, clean toilets, open fronted restaurant, pathway for majority of route so minimal mud, lots of dog walkers, difficult finding parking spaces in some of the car parks especially on a sunny day.

A dog peed on my leg here a little while ago, got some sour memories from that but it shouldn’t detract any stars from this review as it wasn’t the cafes fault (obviously) Love the food here, service is great, people are lovely and the views are even better. Shame about the dog pee though :( Wet leg

Absolutely beautiful! Nice place to walk around and sit and have a picnic. Of course it is a nice place to walk around but can be very busy with people. The parking is also very expensive, if you go over an hour by a few minutes, you're paying £6. Worth a visit though if you don't mind paying!

Lovely place - good feel of nature, the swans were very beautiful and majestic and also friendly. The Cascade waterfall is also a nice sight to see. However, I have 2 issues. The first is that the "Ruins" were not actually natural - the were imported from overseas (I found this out after a bit of research), so that was a bit disappointing. I also suggest that more benches be put around. I walked for a few kms before coming across a bench, my feet were tired. I would rate higher if not for those 2 issues.

I love Virginia water lakes this time of year. Enjoying beautiful spring flowers and the weather was lovely.

Clean facilities, cafe and restaurant. Nice little gift shop with lots of accessories for dog walkers. Great access to the lake and shortest distance to the cascade. About 6-8 minute walk depending on your speed. Wheelchair accessible ✅

A very stunning place we only saw a very small section of the parks. It’s absolutely massive and very beautiful. It gets very busy but we went off route and found some lovely quiet forest section. It has plenty of coffee stops and lots of toilets. We bought a picnic it’s a great place to walk your dog we will Definitely be coming back.

Whilst a very beautiful place to walk the car park fees were not worth it. £12 for 3 hours? Plenty of other beautiful places with free parking in the area.

Amazing.. well maintained

Very nice location, food is good, prices are attractive apart for sweets which are overpriced but when we take in consideration the food I think it is a balance. Also I don't like that the stuff forgets about the cutlery when they clear the table and they bring the next sides ordered. Also I appreciate that they ask from time to time if you are happy with everything.

I love this place, nice cafe, big lake to walk round, totem pole, Valley Gardens, beautiful little waterfall. The trees will be fab in a few weeks.

Lovely land scape!! Beautiful lakh.

A really nice relaxing time. The surrounding trees are well maintained by a group of dedicated team making sure the area is looking in excellent condition. A place where you can take family and friends to enjoy.

Wow! What an amazing place! We walked all around the lake which is about 4. 3 miles plus off the path exploring with our 4 and 1 year old. Very long walk but worth it.

Beautiful views, pieceful, lots of places to sit and enjoy what is around you. Not even the weather could spoil our visit. Will be back soon!!

I love Virginia Water Lake, such a wonderful place to get fabulous! The sense of space is just beautiful.

Great place to visit. Perfect for walking, biking and sunbathing.

Closed atm

Beautiful place to spend a day or even an hour just to walk around, always beautiful experience.

Scenic views, you can walk around the lake

The place itself is beautiful but honestly, why in the world they are keeping the cafe (including toilet) open during the week but closed at the weekend?! This is stupid as the parking is very expensive but no place to get a coffee or else.

A breathtakingly beautiful place, the lake at night coupled with the blanket of stars make it truly enchanting.

Beautiful place

It's a beautiful park. The scenery is stunning

Great for a day out with the kids or alone.

Excellent place to visit beautiful surroundings

Lovely ground, was fairly busy today as the sun was out but still plenty of space. The ice-cream was particularly great!

Fabulous outdoor experience for the whole family. The grounds are lovely and affords you the most scenic walk. To crown it all is this beautiful lake which completes the pleasurable experience as you walk, explore or just sit by the lakeside and chill.

Really nice place to sit. Staff very friendly. Plenty of seating. Coffee fab. Just a bit cold.

Amazing staff, especially the grab and go workers, came on a Sunday and it was very busy but they managed to serve me in a timely and very nice manner (especially curly hair worker) and were working extremely hard, the company should be really proud of them!! Overall drinks were really nice and not too expensive and the cakes were amazing. Would definitely recommend and come back.

Lovely place for a walk or a run in all seasons. And a great breakfast for after. Parking is pretty expensive but very well kept grounds and facilities 🤌🏼

There's lots of facilities here including a cafe, takeaway counter, small shop and toilets. Car parking is a bit expensive but you are paying for the use of the great park. It's a lovely place to start a walk around the Virginia Water which is around 4.5 miles.

Beautiful place - part of Windsor Great Park. Great car parking, toilets, cafe/restaurant, takeaway. Fabulous walk round the lake. Grounds maintained beautifully. Places to have a picnic. A really lovely day/half day out. Can't wait to go back.

Amazing place for a walk. Great landscapes. Stunning and beautiful. 😍 definitely recommend. Has a good café, toilets and a gift store. Loads to see.

Nice location with good places for walking. there are lots of facilities clean and tidy

Beautiful park wich is well looked after, the parking is bit expensive, but if you are parking outside literally next to it on the main road you can get off much cheaper!plus after 5pm its free parking outside 😀!!!back to the park, it has many benches all around, cafeterias as well! I wish there would be outside bbq places to make ur own food and have a good time with family and friends, but this park is anyways an amazing place for picnic!

1st time visiting with my other half and our daughter what a place , staff were brilliant and very relaxing walk 🚶‍♂️

Stunningly beautiful landscape. The picnic area could do with a lot more tending to though. The tables were mostly covered in mess and debris from the trees 🌳 overhead. Parking is expensive @£3ph. Nevertheless, a good choice for either some alone time (angling) or family time.

The public toilets here are remarkable - the most deluxe I have ever experienced and would not be out of place in a 4 star hotel! Art on the walls, branded soaps, wooden toilet seats and impeccably clean. The cafe is lovely and so is the picnic area. Car park is spacious and the lake and park are beautiful. Great place to visit.

Lovely place for a walk. Cafe a bit busy though, which was expected given the nice Spring weather this weekend. Definitely think they could do with some more staff as I felt a bit bad for the staff being so overwhelmed with constant orders/coffees/food etc, but they managed it with a smile. This isn't a bad review at all, I was pleased with the service and I understand how its not easy to just 'get more staff'. Definitely would recommend. The scenery is beautiful. Facilities are very good. We had a lovely family walk. Coffee is good! Food a little overpriced, but we had the burgers. I did see other customers eating the Salmon which looked a lot nicer and more worth the price, smelt good too.

The food is decent, prices are not adequate. Sometimes the staff provides great service, other times they are rude for no reason. The kitchen always closes early if you visit after 5 pm you are not getting anything. The opening times for the restaurant is meant to be 7 pm but at 6.45 pm the girls said no we close at 6.30. I would recommend thinking twice before visiting, staff does not care about revenue and customer service.

Amazing place for hot,cold drinks, for lunch or cakes for those with sweet teeth!! We had an Italian antipasto and it was amazing . Reasonable prices. Diner over looks the park. Staff very very nice.

I had a really well made coffee and a piece of delicious lemon drizzle cake, the wife had cream cheese and smoked salmon on homemade bread, she loved it

It was very very nice with this autumn wiev

This place is awesome,My sister had a photo shoot so we went all. The cafe was great and the park is very well made and the staff are very friendly.

Just what we needed after a good walk around the lake. We worked up an appetite & decided to go for the plant based burger & potatoes.. really enjoyed it. From someone who's tried plant based burgers at many places in London & the southeast, I can definitely say this was one of the best, coupled with the friendly staff, a rather pleasant experience. Recommended.

Fun day out for the whole family.

Lovely views and walks

Very busy, but a lovely walk in the Park on this sunny morning, very hard to keep to any social distancing.

They are renovating the café so just portable loos abs a few tables for facilities. But very beautiful for walks. No idea how they can charge £7.50 for 3 hours parking though!

Excellent place to visit with family and friends. There's lots to see and great places to walk, with or without your dog(s). The cafe is very nice, they have a nice selection of food items, cooked and uncooked. Every time we've been, the staff have been very attentive and friendly. The car park is conveniently located and is priced fairly. If you're lucky, you will get to see the cascades in all its glory.

Lovely place for a run, walk and cycle at any time throughout the year.

this place is an amazing place for a good day out with friends and family - or anyone for that matter - big parking (but be prepared to find it full on a sunny day - cars get parked in the road outside) - good lake - good surroundings - big place so even with lots of people it does not feel crowded (though some parts do feel jam packed) - but overall a place one can come back again and again to enjoy a nice picnic and a walk

Great place to walk your dogs... Such fab space

Such a beautiful place.

Its a nice setting and well kept. There is a cafe but prepare to remortgage youe house before going. The food ia terrible and way overpriced. Take your own food.

Parking is horrendously expensive!!!

On the right day you can take a gram that'll easily get 60 likes

Really love the place. The food and hot drinks in the cafe are great also.

We came here for a big group dog walk which just so happened to be a very warm day but we still had an enjoyable time as there were plenty of spots around the lake for the dogs to take a dip to cool off. Food and refreshments weren't too overpriced which was a pleasant change. Only drawbacks are the very pricy car park which is also hard to get into on busy/warm days at the weekend and it's not clear where else people can go to park. There was also quite a lack of dog poo bins around the lake itself which we felt was a little strange.

Love the cycle round the lake & deer park. Had lunch in cafe by entrance & really disappointed. Food over priced and not great at all. Parking extortionate. Will go to pub nearby next time.

Very relaxing environment, lovely to stroll around

Quality place for relax and activities. 4.5 miles walking distance around the lake with gorgeous views highly recommended to everyone. Romans ruins are one of the main attractions along with totem and waterfall (which you can see on my pictures attached). Large carpark at the front with café and toilets. There's a food van half way through the circuit round the lake. Last summer they were offering coffee and ice-cream. There's also an option to walk through the park which is well looked after.

Such a stunning place filled with many things to see especially if you go around the lake for a walk!

Lovely place to walk your dogs or just have a stroll and theres places to stop and sit and theres even a cafe and toilets

Beautiful place to visit

A good place for a cup of tea

Always serene and peaceful

Nice place to walk or cycling

Lovely place ? highly recommend to visit for everyone!

Love how they also incorporated historical features within the nature as well as other entertainment things and aspects

Lovely walk along the lake. Plenty of car park spaces but not cheap.

Brilliant

Nice place to visit very cool area

The visitors centre was closed for refurbishment, but the lake and the grounds were amazing, extremely clean and well kept.

Absolutely picture perfect, kids enjoyed their bike ride, the family enjoyed the picnic, the staff were amazingly friendly and helpful

Very pretty. Great afternoon.

Beautiful place for family walk and enjoyment

It's ok place to visit nice big lake but didn't understand the hype about it not worth the 2 hours plus drive to it from east London

Stunning get away for a few hours. Enjoy the gardens, scenery and the vast array of flowers and trees that surround the very beautiful lake.

Very nice

The centre is closed for refurbishment at the moment. Sept 2020

Amazing!

Great open space for skateboarding, cycling and long walks. Some footpaths, some more muddy than others. Nice little cafe with both indoor and outdoor sitting areas with views of the lake. Great for families, dog walks and picnics by the water.

Brilliant place! Can have long walk 💚

The park is amazing, cant complain about that. Beautiful and clean. Massive park! Parking is extortionate! The cafe van we used at the car park have zero idea on how to cater for vegetarians. I asked for a veggie roll so they said they had egg and mushrooms on a roll but proceeded to cook it all with meat right next to it. I didn't want to waiste food so ate it but it clearly tasted like burger fat. People need to start taking vegetarians more seriously. Coffee was horrible!

Beautiful place to visit and beautiful walks all over. I do think they need more parking as its so hard to find spaces, despite the rules there was so many people, no soical distancing at all! Very pretty and lovely views all over the park, as a photographer id love to come back one year when it snows.

Beautiful place. There is so much to do, so much to explore.

Car park costs about £4-10 or so depending on how long you stay. The visitor center cafe is nice but is currently under reconstruction. You can stick to dry tarmac paths, but the best walks e.g. following the outline of the lake, are partially dirt and stone and can be a little muddy underfoot. There are few attractions as you walk around, not much to keep the interest of little ones beyond hiding in bushes. The walk itself is beautiful, and generally the park is big enough that you can avoid other people.

The café on the lake next to the being reconstructed visitor centre wanted £1.50 for a cup of hot water to help heat a baby bottle!! Car Park is £9 for 3 hours or £12 for all day. Always very busy.

Great place for a walk and is suitable for wheelchair users

Superb place to spend the day with friends or family. You can take 20000 steps and still won't get to see everything.

4 stars for the closed toilets.... why open the park to people if you won't open toilet facilities? I really dont get it. Anyway, we enjoyed the walk and scenery.

Great for a long afternoon walk around the lake, takes about 2.5hrs, take the dogs and kids, but worth parking in one of the other car parks and not the main one.