Misplaced Pages

#994005

19-536: The Royal Victoria Country Park is a country park in Netley , Hampshire , England , by the shores of Southampton Water . It comprises 200 acres (81 ha) of mature woodland and grassy parkland, as well as a small shingle beach. It was created in 1970 by Hampshire County Council , after the Royal Victoria Military Hospital that had previously occupied the site, was demolished. All that remains of

38-403: A car park, toilets, maybe a cafe or kiosk, paths and trails, and some information for visitors. Some have much more, with museums, visitor centres, educational facilities, historic buildings, farms, boating, fishing, and other attractions. Many larger country parks organise entertainment for visitors, and are venues for firework displays, shows and fairs and other large, outdoor events. There

57-480: A country park is to provide a place that has a natural, rural atmosphere for visitors who do not necessarily want to go out into the wider countryside. Visitors can enjoy a public open space with an informal atmosphere, as opposed to a formal park as might be found in an urban area. For this reason country parks are usually found close to or on the edge of built-up areas, and rarely in the wider countryside. A country park usually has some more formal facilities, such as

76-581: A former BP oil tanker rail line. Once at the end, it follows the Solent Way back to the country park. The path in total is 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometres), with it having steel markers along the route. The oil tanker line was constructed during the First World War to transport aircraft from Manchester to Hamble-le-Rice. A siding was built as part of the railway to serve the flying boat factory in Hamble. The line

95-454: Is not necessarily any public right of access to country parks, and visitors are usually subject to byelaws when they enter the park. Some charge for car parking, some are free. These parks vary tremendously from one to another, and really have only their purpose in common: to provide easy access to the countryside for those living in the towns and suburbs . They do not necessarily have any great nature conservation interest, although often this

114-403: Is run entirely by volunteers. The line is built to the popular gauge of 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 260 mm ) and runs every weekend throughout the year and all school holidays. The Netley Military Cemetery to the rear of the hospital site, primarily for patients of the former hospital, is accessible to the public. Among those buried here are 636 Commonwealth service personnel who died in

133-456: Is the case. In Hong Kong a large part of the territory's countryside is officially designated as country parks. Most of these are reservoir watersheds, serving the dual purpose of providing recreational facilities and contributing to Hong Kong's water supply. Countryside Act 1968 The Countryside Act 1968 (c. 41) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which enlarged

152-782: The First World War and 35 in the Second World War whose graves are maintained and registered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission , who also care for the war graves of 69 Germans and 12 Belgians from the First and of one Polish soldier from the Second war. The park is the start and end point for the Hamble Rail Trail, a path that follows the Netley Hospital Branch Line out of the hospital, and then along

171-700: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and made other amendments to the 1949 Act. It conferred upon water undertakers and the Forestry Commission powers to provide for public access and enjoyment in and around reservoirs and forests, and amended aspects of the Forestry Act 1967 , including provision for compensation in respect of the making of tree preservation orders . The Act gave powers and duties to highway authorities in respect of

190-599: The Act The Countryside in 1970 conferences held in 1963 and 1965 led to the publication in 1966 of a Government white paper called Leisure in the Countryside which proposed inter alia , the creation of country parks near to centres of population so as to ease pressures on wilder areas. The next year the publication of the report of the Gosling Committee recommended a suite of proposals concerning access to

209-574: The Countryside Commission to recognize country parks. Although the Act established country parks and gave guidance on the core facilities and services they should provide it did not empower the designation of sites as country parks, as it was left to local authorities to decide whether to endorse a site calling itself a country park. In England, country parks can be accredited by Natural England , and some also have Green Flag status. The purpose of

SECTION 10

#1732858525995

228-847: The United Kingdom, the term country park has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated country parks in England and Wales attracting some 57 million visitors a year, and another 40 or so in Scotland. Most country parks were designated in the 1970s, under the Countryside Act 1968 , with the support of the former Countryside Commission . In more recent times there has been no specific financial support for country parks directly and fewer have been designated. Most parks are managed by local authorities, although other organisations and private individuals can also run them. The 1968 Countryside Act empowered

247-469: The conservation and recreation functions of the existing National Parks Commission and re-named it the Countryside Commission . It provided for the establishment of country parks and gave local authorities certain powers in respect of the management of common land and of the provision of camping and picnicking sites and provided for grants to such bodies for their establishment. It provided for

266-413: The employment of countryside wardens and for the making of byelaws in connection with such facilities. The Act conferred powers on certain authorities to exercise control over boating on waterbodies within national parks and over the conversion of moorland and heathland to agriculture. It put in place provisions regarding ‘ areas of special scientific value ’ and access to ‘open country’ as defined in

285-472: The hospital is the chapel, which acts as a heritage centre providing history of the hospital. It also has a 150-foot (46 m) viewing tower, providing views over the park, and across Southampton Water to Hythe , and on a clear day, as far as Southampton itself. The site also has a park office and tearooms. The building housing this was built using 100 different timbers from around the UK and British Empire . It

304-665: The psychiatric hospital finally closed, with it bringing to an end hospital services on the site. In 1979, the Hampshire County Council bought the site and it was opened as a country park in 1980. In 2002, the park became grade II listed. In January 2014 it was announced that a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £102,000 would be used for restoring the chapel and revealing more detail of the former hospital. The Royal Victoria Railway runs for around 1 mile (1.6 km) through Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley , Hampshire , England , with views of Southampton Water . It

323-413: The signing of public paths and in respect of the maintenance of stiles and gates on paths. It introduced provisions regarding the ploughing and reinstatement of public paths during agricultural operations and also provided for bicycles to use public bridleways. Further provision was made as regards traffic regulation orders in parts of the countryside. Certain other miscellaneous provisions were made by

342-537: Was not actually used during the war as hostilities ceased before it could be utilised; it was, however, purchased for the storage and transportation of oil to the BP oil terminal in Hamble. BP maintain the option of reopening the line, but it has not been used since 1986 when it transported crude oil from Wytch Farm in Dorset , a route which has since been replaced by a 56-mile-long (90 km) pipeline. Country park In

361-450: Was originally built in 1940 by the YMCA for entertainment, recreation and relaxation for staff and patients at the hospital. In 1958, the vast majority of the hospital closed to patients. In 1966, the last part of the hospital was demolished, with the chapel being the only remnant of the former hospital. The foundation stone, laid by Queen Victoria was lifted in a special ceremony. In 1978,

#994005