The Royal Victoria Country Park is a country park in Netley, Hampshire, England, by the shores of Southampton Water. It comprises 200 acres (81 ha) of mature woodland and grassy parkland, as well as a small shingle beach.
From 1863 until 1966, the site was home to the Royal Victoria Hospital. The site was acquired by Hampshire County Council in 1969, who opened the park to the public in 1970.
All that remains of the hospital is the chapel, which acts as a heritage centre providing history of the hospital. It also has a 150-foot (46 m) viewing tower, providing views over the park, and across Southampton Water to Hythe, and on a clear day, as far as Southampton itself.
The site also has a park office and tearooms. The building housing this was built using 100 different timbers from around the UK and British Empire. It was originally built in 1940 by the YMCA for entertainment, recreation and relaxation for staff and patients at the hospital.
There is also a miniature narrow-gauge railway the Royal Victoria Railway on the site which runs for around 1 mile (1.6 km).
The park is home to a large variety of birds, mammals and plants.
The park can be reached on foot via a footpath from Netley Station, or there is ample car parking on site.
Southampton Water is an extremely busy shipping lane, with container ships and cruise liners, including the Queen Mary 2 using the port at Southampton as a base.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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“In the great cities, winter glitters with art and feasting. But poetry, the country cousin, sees only the dearth of the fields.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Mrs. Mirvan says we are not to walk in [St. James’s] Park again next Sunday ... because there is better company in Kensington Gardens; but really, if you had seen how every body was dressed, you would not think that possible.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)