For the lake, see Virginia Water Lake

Virginia Water Lake

Virginia Water Lake lies on the southern edge of Windsor Great Park, in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey and the civil parishes of Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot in Berkshire, in England. It is a man-made lake taking its name from a natural body of water of the same name...

.

Virginia Water is an affluent village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

, a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 and, originally, a stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

, the village being in the Runnymede Borough Council

Runnymede (borough)

Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in the English county of Surrey. It is a very prosperous part of the London commuter belt, with some of the most expensive housing in the United Kingdom outside of central London, such as the Wentworth Estate.Runnymede is entirely...

 in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

 and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor

Old Windsor

Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...

 and Sunninghill and Ascot

Sunninghill and Ascot

Sunninghill and Ascot is a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead on the eastern borders of the English county of Berkshire.Before 12 August 2004, the parish was known simply as Sunninghill...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The village takes its name from the lake in the nearby Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...

. The lake's name was transferred from a previous stream, which was probably named after the 'Virgin Queen', Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

.

The lake

Virginia Water Lake

Virginia Water Lake

Virginia Water Lake lies on the southern edge of Windsor Great Park, in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey and the civil parishes of Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot in Berkshire, in England. It is a man-made lake taking its name from a natural body of water of the same name...

 lies within Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...

. It was created from a body of water of the same name: originally little more than a stream, which existed from at least the 17th century and may well be named after Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

, the Virgin Queen.
The lake is mostly in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, though the western extremities are in the civil parishes of Old Windsor

Old Windsor

Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...

 and Sunninghill and Ascot

Sunninghill and Ascot

Sunninghill and Ascot is a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead on the eastern borders of the English county of Berkshire.Before 12 August 2004, the parish was known simply as Sunninghill...

 in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

Recently the shores of the lake have been used for lakeside scenes in the Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

 films. The lake is also the site of the British record capture of a pike, weighing 58 lb 5oz.

During World War II, the lake was drained, as its recognizable shape was thought likely to provide enemy guidance at night to Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

 and to important military targets in the area.

The village

The 2001 census population of Virginia Water was 6,113. Many of the village's houses are large detached homes situated on the private Wentworth Estate

Wentworth Estate

The Wentworth Estate is a 1920s development village of houses, shops and restaurants on an area of 700 hectares around the world famous Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

 home of the famous Wentworth Club

Wentworth Club

Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and health resort in Virginia Water, Surrey on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1926.-History:...

 which has four golf courses. The Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...

 was first played there. It is also home to the headquarters of the PGA European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

, the world's second-richest professional golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tour (after the PGA Tour

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

 in the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

). The estate reached the headlines in 1998 when General Augusto Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...

 was kept under house arrest in one of its houses prior to his extradition. Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...

 is former royal resident. Many well-known entertainment personalities also have or had homes on the estate including Chris Squire

Chris Squire

Christopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...

, Russ Abbott, Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

 and Bruce Forsyth

Bruce Forsyth

Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...

. World-class golfers with homes on the estate include Ernie Els

Ernie Els

Theodore Ernest "Ernie" Els is a South African professional golfer, who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature along with his fluid, seemingly effortless golf swing...

 and Thomas Bjørn

Thomas Bjørn

Thomas Bjørn is a professional golfer from Denmark who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won thirteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1999 he also became the first Dane to qualify for a European Ryder Cup team...

. The author and traveller Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson

William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...

 spent his early married life in the village.

Edward VIII

Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

 was a resident of nearby Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere, Surrey

Fort Belvedere is a country house on Shrubs Hill in Windsor Great Park, England, very near Sunningdale, Berkshire, but actually over the border in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey. It is a former royal residence - from 1750 to 1976 - and is most famous for being the home of King Edward VIII. It...

.

Virginia Water is also home to many London commuters. It is close to the M25

M25 motorway

The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...

, M4

M4 motorway

The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...

 and M3 motorways. The village has a four track railway station

Virginia Water railway station

Virginia Water railway station serves the village of Virginia Water, in Surrey, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South West Trains....

 in the middle of the village on the line between London Waterloo

Waterloo station

Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....

, Weybridge

Weybridge

Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...

 and Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

. Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

 is located eight miles to the north-east. The village has two rows of shops, although many inhabitants travel to the nearby towns of Staines

Staines

Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...

, Ascot

Ascot, Berkshire

Ascot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...

 and Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

 for shopping. The towns of Egham

Egham

Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...

, Englefield Green

Englefield Green

Englefield Green is a large village in northern Surrey, England. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London, the south eastern corner of Windsor Great Park and close to the towns of Egham, Windsor, Staines and Virginia Water...

 and Old Windsor

Old Windsor

Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.-Location:...

 are nearby. Holloway Sanatorium

Holloway Sanatorium

Holloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of the insane, located on of parkland near the town of Virginia Water, Surrey, within the boundary of the Greater London Urban Area, about south-west of Charing Cross....

, an asylum for the mentally ill, where the writer Bill Bryson worked upon first settling in England was located near to the village but closed in the 1980s and was converted to private accommodation.