Lake, Isle of Wight

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Civil parish
Lake
Status:	Parish
Population:
Administration
Primary council:	Isle of Wight
Politics

Lake is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England.

It is one of the 'Wonders of the Isle of Wight' that are:

"Lake" where there is no water.
The "Needles" you cannot thread.
"Ryde" where you walk.
"Cowes" you cannot milk.
"Freshwater" you cannot drink.
"Newport" you cannot bottle.
"Winkle street" where there are no Winkles.
"Newtown" which is very old.

Lake is named after the Old English "Lacu" referring to the creek that ran along what is now Scotchells Brook, which is between the Isle of Wight Airport and the Morrisons Superstore and the Spithead Industrial Park - the former "Temperatures" air conditioning factory.

Having opened in 1987, "Lake Halt" railway station was the newest on the island until the construction of a station at Smallbrook Junction in 1994.

There is a Primary School at Blackpan and a Comprehensive (Sandown High) and Middle School at the Fairway. There are several pubs; The Stag and the Old Manor House, plus Lake Working Men's Club and a Townswomens' Guild. The Lions have a centre in the car park, behind the Co Op stores.

There is a Methodist Chapel, a Jehovah Witness Kingdom and an Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd. Local businesses include Downer & White undertakers, Swinton Insurance, Lake Antiques, Careless & Kemp solicitors, Allegri accountants, Weekly Ad newspaper office, Floor Design Carpets, a newsagents, Rite-Price Hardware Store, the Co-Op Stores (open 6.30.am to 10.30.pm.) and Karen Denley Chiropodist. The village also features an Indian and two Chinese takeaways, a kebab shop and Lake Fish Bar.

Lake or Welcome Beach is reached by a steep path down the sandstone cliffs to the Revetment, which contains two cafes (Hinks and Strollers), beach huts, a Sea Scout hut and inshore lifeboat. There is a Health Clinic at the top of the Fairway and a doctor's surgery near the Co Op. There is a public phone box between the Co Op and the public toilets and another set of toilets on the Revetment.

The village war memorial has been relocated behind the Fairway Bus Shelter due to having been run down twice by carelessly driven lorries. There is a large public park called Los Altos. Local wildlife includes Pipstrelle bats at Los Altos, kestrels along the Cliff Path and Common Toads which spawn in the disused reservoir behind the Mall. Sandown & Shanklin Golf Course is behind the High School and the Rugby Club in front. The wetlands of the River Yar are an SSSI supporting newts,voles and wildfowl. Recent improvements have overcome the problem of persistent flooding near the Co-Op caused by rainwater run-off from Lake Hill and the Mall.

Public transport is provided by Southern Vectis bus routes 2, 3 and 8, which run between Newport, Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor Route 3 runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Local route 22 also serves the village on its way between Sandown and Shanklin via the back roads.^[1]