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Discover this beautiful complex of lakes just outside Abingdon. The lakes were saved from destruction some years ago by a community-led group, Friends of Radley Lakes, and are now a thriving hotspot for local bird and wildlife.

Well worth the detour for the full English at Oxford boat club

Add a bit here if you like, with a lap of Thrupp Lake!

Bikes are Banned from going around Radley lakes :(

Winston Churchill's father called the view of Blenheim Palace, its lake and the Grand Bridge the finest in England. It certainly all looks grand from the edge of this beautiful, man-made lake. When Blenheim Palace was first built, the lake was not much more than a marshy stream. It was 'Capability' Brown who imagined a grand lake as part of his great vision for Blenheim Park. In 1764, he dammed the River Glyme, creating the lake and its series of beautiful cascades. Today, Blenheim Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due, in part, to the lake's importance for breeding and wintering birds.

Wading birds and wildfowl inhabit RSPB Otmoor Reserve all year round. A number of visitor trails take you around this extensive area of floodplain grazing marsh. Songbirds and warblers add to the peaceful atmosphere, a gorgeous place to ramble in any season.

554 acres (224 ha) of glorious parkland await at Blenheim Park, which occupies most of Blenheim Palaces' grounds. The park is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the habitats it supports. Whilst you have to pay to enter the palace and formal gardens, the park's many footpaths are free to enter. You can take a stroll by the lake, explore the woodland areas, or find a tranquil spot for a picnic.

The Radley Lakes complex is an area of former gravel workings which was transformed and saved from destruction in 2008 after a long community-led campaign by the Save Radley Lakes group. The largest lake, Thrupp Lake, is now an important wildlife habitat; in summer try to spot the emergent damselflies and darting dragonflies...