Willow Lake

Water the colour of old pewter, ringed by willows that dip their branches low enough to tickle the surface - that's Willow Lake in a nutshell. It's a proper working landscape, this one, not some manicured tourist attraction. You'll find locals fishing here, families chucking bread at ducks (which the swans tolerate with varying degrees of patience), and the occasional walker detouring from the main footpath to sit for twenty minutes and do absolutely nothing.

The lake itself isn't huge - you can walk the perimeter in under an hour without breaking a sweat - but that's rather the point. It's intimate in a way that larger reservoirs never quite manage. The willows provide decent shade in summer, which matters more than you'd think when you're sat on a bench in August. Kids will get bored quickly if you just park them here, but combine it with a picnic and a bit of exploring in the surrounding woodland, and it becomes the sort of half-day that sticks in memory.

Nearest proper base is Southampton, though honestly you're better off staying somewhere more rural if you're planning to use this as part of a broader park holiday. Beechen Glamping sits just five or six miles away and would give you proper access without the faff of driving through the city. Spring and autumn are best - fewer people, better light for photographs, and the flies haven't reached peak aggression yet. Free to visit, as far as anyone can tell, though check ahead if you're planning to fish.