Serviced Apartments in Eastleigh

Discover the best activities and attractions Eastleigh has to offer, and find out what makes this city a vibrant and exciting place to live or visit.

Itchen Valley Country Park
Itchen Valley Country Park is a large greenspace on the outskirts of Eastleigh offering waymarked walking trails, ponds, meadows, play areas and a visitor centre. It’s popular with families, dog walkers and wildlife watchers for its mix of accessible countryside and seasonal events such as guided walks and children’s activities. Impact: the park supports local wellbeing, environmental education and small-scale tourism, bringing visitors who use nearby cafés, shops and accommodation and helping sustain jobs in park management, outdoor education and hospitality.

Lakeside Country Park & Eastleigh Lakeside Railway
Lakeside Country Park sits beside the River Itchen and includes reedbeds, birdlife hides and waterside paths; its standout attraction is the volunteer-run Eastleigh Lakeside Railway (a 7¼" miniature railway) which operates special running days and family events. It’s popular for hands-on, family-friendly railway experiences and peaceful waterside walks. Impact: volunteers and event visitors contribute to the local economy via donations, ticket and café spend, and the attraction raises Eastleigh’s profile as a family day‑out destination while supporting heritage and volunteer engagement.

Eastleigh Town Centre & Weekly Market
Eastleigh town centre combines national retailers, independent shops, cafés and a regular market that draws locals and visitors. The market and high street provide a place for small businesses to trade alongside established stores, with the town center hosting seasonal promotions and community-led shopping events. Impact: the retail and market scene is a core employer for the town, circulating money locally, supporting independent traders and creating footfall that sustains hospitality and services in the area.

Railway Heritage (Eastleigh Works & Station area)
Eastleigh has deep railway roots—Eastleigh Works and the railway station are central to the town’s history as an engineering and rail-servicing hub. Although much of the works are operational industrial sites, the town’s railway heritage is celebrated locally through interest groups, occasional open days, heritage displays and walking routes highlighting historic buildings. It’s popular with railway enthusiasts, historians and school groups. Impact: the railway sector remains an important local employer and skills base; celebrating the heritage helps community identity, promotes specialist tourism and supports education and apprenticeships in engineering.

Community Festivals & Cultural Events
Eastleigh stages a variety of community-focused events through the year—street markets, summer fairs, community theatre and music performances run by local arts groups and councils. These events are popular because they showcase local artists, food and community groups and provide free or low-cost entertainment for families. Impact: festivals and cultural programming strengthen social ties, give local creatives and small businesses exposure, attract day visitors who spend locally, and help position Eastleigh as an active, community-driven town.

Note: Details reflect commonly known Eastleigh attractions and community activities; specific opening times, event schedules and operating arrangements can change, so check local council and venue pages for current information.

Explore the diverse transport options available in Eastleigh, from efficient public transportation systems to convenient road networks. Whether you're commuting to work or exploring the city, this section will give you an overall look at the available transportation systems.

Public Transit System
- Rail (Eastleigh railway station) - A staffed station on services operated primarily by South Western Railway, offering regular connections to Southampton Central, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and London Waterloo, plus local and regional services that link Eastleigh with surrounding Hampshire towns.
- Local buses - A network of local and regional bus services serving Eastleigh town centre, the railway station and neighbouring suburbs; operators in the area include Bluestar, Stagecoach and smaller local firms, providing frequent commuter and cross-town routes.
- Southampton Airport (Eastleigh) - A regional airport located in Eastleigh offering domestic and limited international flights and onward surface connections by bus, taxi and road to the town and wider region.
- Taxi and private-hire services - Licensed hackney carriages and multiple private-hire firms operate throughout Eastleigh, providing last-mile and on-demand travel at all times.
- Coach / long-distance connections - National coach services are accessible via nearby Southampton and other regional hubs; local bus links connect Eastleigh to these coach interchanges for longer-distance travel.

Major Highways
- M3 - Major motorway providing a direct strategic route north-east toward London and connections into the national motorway network, accessible a short drive from Eastleigh.
- M27 - East–west coastal motorway linking the Southampton and Portsmouth conurbations and providing rapid access to coastal and Solent corridor destinations from Eastleigh.
- A335 - Key primary A-road serving Eastleigh, linking the town to Southampton, the M27 and nearby suburbs and industrial areas.
- A33 - Regional route providing connections between Southampton, Eastleigh’s wider area and northbound links toward Basingstoke and the A34/M3 corridors.
- A3024 / local A-roads - A network of A and B roads around Eastleigh that feed the motorways and manage local traffic flows into Southampton and neighbouring towns.

Cycling Infrastructure
- Cycle lanes and routes - Eastleigh features a mix of on-road cycle lanes, traffic-calmed streets, off-road shared-use paths and riverside routes (including paths alongside the River Itchen/Itchen Navigation), links to sections of the National Cycle Network and ongoing local cycle route improvements promoted through the borough council’s cycling strategy and Hampshire’s walking & cycling plans.

Recent and Upcoming Improvements
- Station and interchange improvements - Recent works and planned schemes focus on improving accessibility, passenger facilities and the integration between Eastleigh railway station and the bus interchange to make transfers easier and more accessible.
- Bus service and fleet upgrades - Ongoing updates to local bus timetables and vehicle fleets, including introductions of newer, lower-emission buses on key routes and service frequency adjustments to match commuter demand.
- Cycle and walking infrastructure expansion - Implementation of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) priorities and targeted projects to extend segregated cycle lanes, improve route continuity and upgrade crossings to encourage active travel.
- Road junction and congestion relief schemes - Local authority-led improvements to key junctions and traffic management measures intended to reduce peak congestion on approaches to the M27/M3 and within the town centre.
- Airport surface-access enhancements - Incremental improvements to road, bus and taxi links serving Southampton Airport (Eastleigh) to streamline passenger access and connectivity with the town and rail services.
- Town centre and regeneration transport elements - Transport-focused elements of Eastleigh town-centre regeneration plans that aim to reconfigure parking, improve pedestrian/cycle access and create a better-connected transport hub for residents and businesses.