Andark Lake

View prices & book 8.6 370 reviews
Lakeside pitches
Swimming and diving on site
The grass pitch
Entrance to site

  • Peaceful site near the River Hamble: two pubs within walking distance
  • Six miles from Southampton and 12 from Portsmouth's ferry terminal
  • Set in scuba diving and open-water swimming lake grounds
Get set to get wet… with the Solent coast a couple of miles away, the Hamble river down the road and of course the lake on site, it’s safe to say that life pretty much revolves around the water at Andark Lake, a small and quiet grassy site six miles from the centre of Southampton. The main focal point here is the purpose-built scuba diving training lake, where wetsuit-clad types can sign up for training courses (when pre-booked) or recreational dives, hire kit and fill air tanks (for certified scuba divers). Open-water swims can be had for an extra charge at the weekends, when staff are on site and the place isn't in use by divers. Outside of swim time, there’s more water-based activity (sailing, paddleboarding, kitesurfing and windsurfing) along the riverside or at Swanwick Marina. Should all this aquatic activity have worked up a bit of a hunger, trot over to the site café for snacks and light lunches, plus hot and cold drinks throughout the day. For your evening meals, three pubs are within walking distance, or you can pick up supermarket supplies two miles away for a sunset sausage sizzle. Other amenities on site include a drinking water tap and a toilet block with male and female changing rooms, lockers and showers, all open 24/7. A coldwater sink is available in the pitching field where guests can wash pots and pans, and an accessible toilet is available on request.

Site type

Motorhome pitches 7
Tent pitches 10
Open now
Opens 10 January
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Your dog must be tattooed or microchipped.
  • Group bookings of 3 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • Single-sex bookings of 3 or more people (couples and immediate family members excepted) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The site caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.
  • Reception is unmanned after 5 p.m.. Please inform the site while on your way there should you expect to arrive after this time, so that the team can provide information about your unit/pitch.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality torch with them as parts of the site are unlit.
  • Lake open-water swimming is not included in the rate and is charged at £7 per person for a day ticket . Swimming is only available Wednesday to Sunday. No swimming while divers are in the lake. The lake must not be used after hours or when no staff are on site, as it's a deep diving training lake and can be dangerous. Dogs are not allowed in the lake at any time.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Wed, 10 Jan to

Open from Fri, 3 Jan to

Pitch types & availability

Reviews

86%

would recommend this site to a friend

83%

would stay here again

  • 58%
    10
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    9
  • 23%
    8
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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Just highly recommended

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Richard R. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: What a fabulous location - very clean tidy and well organised. Even had a bacon bap and coffee at the lake cafe… highly recommended. local pub grub is excellent and cafe at the Premier marina is new and also great quality with exceptional views . We Walked the dog along the river and admired the multi million pound properties !!

Disliked: Nothing to dislike whatsoever

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We're glad you enjoyed your stay and visits to the surrounding area!

Quite location, good clean facilities, close to bus stop.…

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 8
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Allan D. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: Quite location, good clean facilities, close to bus stop.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for the review- good to hear you enjoyed the peace of our site.

Quiet, overlooking the swimming lake. Great facilities & cafe

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Sandra C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: What a gem! Fantastic, quiet location. Hidden away amongst the trees, overlooking the swimming / diving lake. Great facilities, even had a hairdryer in the changing room! Swimming shop and cafe on-site, with a good food selection

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Great to hear Sandra- thanks for the feedback.

Unique setting with excellent facilities

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Maryanne C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: Shower and toilet facilities excellent
Cafe on site
Small site so quiet
Lake for swimming is delightful (have to book)
Always a great experience we love it there

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Great to have you back Maryanne, hopefully see you here again soon!

Would go again

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 4
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: Nice and quiet, enjoyed watching people swim in the lake. Great pub at end of road, lovely food. Toilets and showers were clean and modern.

Disliked: Not knowing where the site was as turned right into a carpark but was told it was up the unnamed road. Think it needs a sign saying straight on up the road. As man said it happens a lot.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We're glad you enjoyed the facilities and paid a visit to our favourite pub! Thanks for the feedback with regards to finding us- we are on Google Maps and give a WhatThreeWords location in our pre-arrival email, but will review our signage.

A super place to unwind and relax!

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 10
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Doreen J F. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: I was amazed to see the site on arrival! Not a typical campsite. But every aspect of camping was covered with care and concern for campers. It was lovely to watch the swimmers in that lake whilst I sat drinking my coffee. I might pluck up my courage to join in the next time!
The chips in the cafe are to die for!

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Wonderful to hear you enjoyed your stay so much! We'd love to welcome you back for another stay and perhaps a swim next time!

Dark isolation - not for us.

Overall 2/10
Location 10
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 2
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness No rating
Wifi No rating
Julie S. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: Location was close to the motorway, not far from the ferry terminal in Portsmouth.

Disliked: On arrival we found that there was absolutely nobody at the site, no staff and no other campers. It was very dark. There did not appear to be any electric hook up, or if there was, we were not able to find it. We really felt uncomfortable with the isolation of the site and so decided not to stay.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: We're sorry our site wasn't for you- we do advertise our reception opening hours and advise guests to bring a torch in our listed information. Most of our visitors enjoy our little escape away from the hustle and bustle and street lights, whilst being within walking distance of pubs and shops.

Lovely site, would definitely stay again.

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 4
Rebecca B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: Friendly staff, nice hard standing pitches with electric. Very clean toilets and showers open 24/7. Easy access to pubs and dog walks on the hamble river. Nice to see the open water swimmers and divers coming and going.

Disliked: Needed to sit right by the reception block for wifi, couldnt get it on pitch even though we were close to reception. But it didn’t matter too much. No block to wash up unless
you use toilet sink. Just a draining board provided.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for the feedback, nice to hear you made the most of the faclities and surrounding area.

As above

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: Safe and secure spot
Clean shower and toilets
Near lots of amenities and a great pub with lovely food
Short distance from Portsmouth ferry port
Cafe on site

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thanks for the review- we're glad you enjoyed your stay.

Toilets etc were clean cage was lovely

Overall 6/10
Location 6
Value for money 6
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 10
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Electric grass and gravel motorhome pitch

Liked: The cafe and views of lake watching divers as we ate

Disliked: That nowhere does it state that there's a huge walk to the toilet block on stones if your disabled and fact the electric is on a splitter cable only states may need a torch deffo not disabled friendly from motorhome pitches ... Cafe very over priced for what I got .
Also not suitable for families of single mums as the walk as stated is quite far and poor lit

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site cafe On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports Wild swimming

Amenities on site

Bath available Car parking by pitch/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Picnic table Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Lake and/or mountain Peaceful Spectacular scenery Walkers' paradise Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby Public transport nearby Shop nearby

Type

Small (11-25 pitches)

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Cycling nearby Outdoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Andark Lake

Oslands Lane

Lower Swanwick

Southampton

Hampshire

England

SO31 7EG

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

GPS

50.88013°N
-1.29099°W

Route directions

The site is at the top of Oslands Lane, an unmade track. The access road is opposite the Old Ship pub (Bridge Road). The road runs between Andark Shop and the Carsa Car dealership.

Nearest transport

Coach
5.1 mi Telephone House
5.1 mi Telephone House
5.1 mi Terminal 1
Rail
0.7 mi Bursledon Rail Station
1.1 mi Swanwick Rail Station
1.8 mi Hamble Rail Station
Ferry
1.8 mi Hamble-le-Rice Ferry Landing
1.9 mi Warsash Ferry Landing
4.8 mi Hythe (Hants) Ferry Terminal
Airport
5.7 mi Southampton Airport
24.7 mi Bournemouth International Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Wetsuits at the ready – if you’re into your watersports you’ll have plenty to pick from around here. Swanwick Marina is 10 minutes’ walk away for sailing training, and there’s paddleboarding, windsurfing and kayaking on the Hamble 15 minutes’ drive away. Kitesurf kit hire and lessons are 40 minutes away on the other side of the river. Take a break from the big blue for a wander around Holly Hill Woodland Park, five minutes away by car, or a sea-view stroll through Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, 20 minutes away. SeaCity Museum, Solent Sky Museum and the Tudor House and Garden in Southampton are worth a visit too, and there are shops, restaurants and a cinema at the city’s West Quay. Cross the River Hamble to hit the New Forest National Park, 25 minutes’ drive away, for a walk, bike ride or horse ride or a trip to meet the furry and feathered residents of the New Forest Wildlife Park. It’s also worth trundling along to the classic car collection at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum (35 minutes away).

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Calshot 5 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Hillhead 5.4 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Lee-On-Solent 6.6 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Lepe 7.2 mi Sea N/AExcellentExcellentExcellent
Cowes 7.8 mi Sea N/AGoodGoodExcellent

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Southampton Maritime Museum 5.1 mi

Beaulieu National Motor Museum 8.1 mi

Portchester Castle 8.3 mi

Osborne House 8.9 mi

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard 9.8 mi

National Trust

Newtown Old Town Hall 12.5 mi

Winchester City Mill 12.5 mi

Hinton Ampner 12.8 mi

Mottisfont 15.4 mi

Bembridge Windmill 15.9 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Grace Dieu 0.9 mi

ROYAL VICTORIA COUNTRY PARK, FORMERLY ROYAL VICTORIA MILITARY HOSPITAL 2.2 mi

TOWNHILL PARK 4.7 mi

CENTRAL PARKS, SOUTHAMPTON 5.1 mi

SOUTHAMPTON CEMETERY 6 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Hampshire?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Andark Lake have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Andark Lake dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Andark Lake? Wetsuits at the ready – if you’re into your watersports you’ll have plenty to pick from around here. Swanwick Marina is 10 minutes’ walk away for sailing training, and there’s paddleboarding, windsurfing … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Andark Lake?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  9 p.m.
    Depart by:  12 p.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Andark Lake? From £20 (for 1 night, 6 people) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.