Swanbourne Lake — Attraction in Arun

We enjoyed a rather bracing walk around Swanbourne Lake a couple of years ago now. We took our young son in his buggy, which proved difficult in parts (things may have now changed). We found the far side (the opposite side to the café) an absolute quagmire and had to keep stopping to de-mud the tyres of the buggy.

Hard going though it was, it really was quite beautiful and a nice free activity for most to enjoy. I had recently been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, so I just plodded along, but I made it.

Unless things have changed considerably, I wouldn't advise the entire walk for those who are less able-bodied, but it's worth checking out for yourself; you may find you can manage at least some of the trail, especially during drier spells.

At the time, the café was selling bags of seeds to feed the ducks, etc. for 50p per bag. Again, this may...

Nice location for a moderately easy stroll around the lake which takes about 30-45 mins and is largely flat and has a wide surfaced path. Plenty of ducks, swans, and gulls waiting to be fed! There is a cafe and takeaway hut on site but prices are a little steep. There are five or so benches near the cafe but none around the rest of the lake.

No parking actually on site but the approach road has free parking in both directions albeit there is no pavement but oncoming traffic usually driving slowly. Outside of peak hours it's usually easy to find a space close by, but on a weekend or sunny day you may find there is back to back parked cars all the way from the Black Rabbit PH to Arundel Castle and will have to do a few laps waiting for...

We love going round this area. It is so peaceful and a beautiful area to get away from it all. Unfortunately our last visit on 16th April was marred by the lack of control of dog owners on their dogs. One family let both their dogs off the lead and didn't get control of them at all. This lead to a rather distressing situation when one of the dogs started to harass some sheep in the field at the end of the lake. The so called owners were not at all concerned and take a long time to retrieve their dog. Next we saw an elderly couple go through a gate which clearly stated that dogs must be on a lead with their dog not on a lead, entering an area which held livestock. If you are going there with your dogs make sure they are on a lead and...