Historic Walks

Testwood Lakes is one of Hampshire's newest nature reserves, evolving from a gravel extraction site owned by Southern Water to a 150 acre site bringing a variety of countryside habitats to within a short distance of Southampton's urban fringes. 

Reserves Officer, Claire Bishop explained: "We have a variety of habitats -  old hedgerows, some newly seeded grassland, woodland and  wet woodland.  It's great to have such a large open space for  the public to come and enjoy."

Reedbeds

For Education Officer Sam Dawson, it's been quite a transformation: "When I arrived in 2003, it was just mud - it's been great to see it gradually turning green over the years. It's great to get children out here and when they see the tower blocks of Southampton, they get an appreciation that the countryside isn't that far away from them."

From the main car park, a path loops round both Little Testwood Lake and Testwood Lake.  Little Testwood Lake is a working reservoir providing water for parts of Southampton, Totton and the Isle of Wight. The conical pumping house moves water between the two lakes.

The largest Testwood Lake has sailing facilities and a circular walk.  Thousands of trees and shrubs were planted around the lakes to encourage wildlife.

The third, Meadow Lake provides the perfect wetland environment for wading birds like palwing and snipe to nest in the spring and summer.  In the autumn and winter you'll see a wide range of wildfowl feeding on the lakes, including teal, widgeon and mallard. 

The tern platform

There is a bird hide for watching the flocks of birds on the water without disturbing them. (This area is closed to dog walkers).

You'll see the lakes have been constructed to create a natural wetland habitat that the birds would be familiar with.  A 'tern platform' has been floated on the lake to appear like a natural bank of shingle for birds to nest on.

An education centre provides more information on the story of Testwood and the animal and bird life in the area.  A bronze age house outside the centre is a replica of the houses the area's inhabitants would have lived in 3,000 years ago - during the excavation a wooden boat was found preserved under the gravel.

A lot of the work is carried out by volunteers including maintaining the pathways, re-generating the pasture land and helping at the education centre.