Lakeside Country Park

Lakeside Country Park is a country park just south of the town of Eastleigh in Hampshire. The park covers 60 acres[1] and is home to the Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway.

Lakeside Country Park
Beach Lake, one of the three lakes in the park
Type	Country park
Location	Eastleigh, Hampshire, UK
Coordinates	50.957°N 1.364°W / 50.957; -1.364
Area	60 acres (240,000 m^2)
Operated by	Eastleigh Borough Council
Status	Open all year

The park is on the site of old gravel workings, with lakes formed from gravel pits.[1] As well as the lakes themselves, the park boasts meadows and some young woodland.[1]

The park is bounded by the Eastleigh urban area to the north, the A335 road to the east, the boundary between Eastleigh and Southampton to the south, and Monks Brook to the west.

Eastleigh Lakeside Railway

Eastleigh Lakeside station is the centre of operations for the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway

Lakeside County Park Railway[2]
Monks Brook Playground Station and workshops

A dual gauge 10 ¹⁄₄ in (260 mm) / 7 ¹⁄₄ in (184 mm) light railway was established in the park in 1992, originally as a temporary layout.[3] A more permanent track was laid down in 1993, as the railway company was granted a three-year lease.[3] Five years later, a longer lease was negotiated and construction began on the two stations, Eastleigh Parkway and Monks Brook.[3] They were opened in 1999, although further work on the layout itself was carried out in 2000.[3] A tunnel was added in 2003, and Eastleigh Parkway station was extended in 2005 with the addition of a café and shop.[3]

loco number	Name	Type	Railway	Gauge	Notes	Image
1001	The Monarch	Steam	ELR	10		1001 The Monarch
1002	The Empress	Steam	Example	10		The Empress ELR
1003	Western Queen	Steam	SBCR	10.25	Under Restoration	Western Queen 1003
2005	Silver Jubilee	Steam	Example	10		2005 Silver Jubilee
2006	Edward VIII	Steam	SBCR	10		Edward VIII Train
21C1	Channel Packet	Steam	SOUTHERN	10		21C1 Channel Packet
35004	Cunard White Star	Steam	SOUTHERN	10.25		35004 ELR
7	Sandy River	Steam	ELR	10		Sandy River
70055	Rob Roy	Steam	British Rail	10		Rob Roy ELR
850	Lord Nelson	Steam	SOUTHERN	10		850 Lord Nelson
4498	Sir Nigel Gresley	Steam	A4 Pacific	10		Sir Nigel Gresley ELR
10	Sir Arthur Heywood	Steam	ELR	7.25		Heywood
4789	William Barker	Steam	Atlantic	7.25
3	Francis Henry Lloyd	Steam	ELR	7.25
1908	Ernest Henry Upton	Steam	SOUTHERN	10
6220	Coronation	Steam	LMS	10	on loan to railway
6100	Royal Scot	Steam	LMS	10	on loan to railway
D1994	Eastleigh	Diesel	ELR	10
92	Florence	Diesel	ELR	10
3221	University of Southampton	Electric propulsion	ELR	10
no	David Curwen	Steam	DR	7.25
761	Taw	Steam	SOUTHERN	7.25
no	Sanjo	Steam	SJAANR	7.25
no	Idris	Steam	MHLR	7.25

Water sports centre

In 2014 funding was approved towards the replacement of the current lakeside buildings with two new buildings with improved toilets and changing facilities, storage, offices and a multi-purpose function room. The estimated cost of the scheme is £2.5 million, of which £1 million had been allocated from the New Homes Bonus and £371,000 from the Eastleigh Local Area Committee. The new buildings were completed in late 2016.[4]

Open water swimming clubs have been run from the venue since at least 2010,[5] and, as of 2017, swimming sessions are currently operated by HOWL Multisports.[6]

References

1. Eastleigh Borough Council: Lakeside Country Park Archived 12 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2 July 2014
2. http://www.steamtrain.co.uk/track-layout
3. Eastleigh Lakeside Railway: History of the Railway at Lakeside Archived 24 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 21 September 2007
4. "Plans for a new water sports centre move a step closer". Eastleigh Borough Council. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
5. "Free swimming at Eastleigh's Lakeside". Daily Echo. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
6. "Open Water Swimming Opens In Hampshire". www.britishtriathlon.org. Retrieved 4 March 2017.

External links

• HOWL Multisports
• Pictures of The Eastleigh Lakeside Railway