Virginia Water was first dammed and flooded in 1753. Until the creation of the great reservoirs, it was the largest man-made body of water in the British Isles.
The woodlands surrounding the lake have been continuously planted since the middle of the 18th Century. The Frost Farm Plantation (at the south-western end of the lake) is also a designated SSI (Site of Special Interest), thanks to its maturity and biodiversity.
There are reminders of the past wherever you look. The lake was once a place of pageantry and spectacle and home to a Chinese junk and fishing temples built on the shore.
