🌳 OutdoorWater playSeasonal opening
What’s there
- Paid parking
Seafront Canoe Lake car park, pay and display, 146 spaces including 4 disabled badge bays, per the council car park page. Charges apply 8am to 8pm.
Only facilities we’ve confirmed are listed — anything missing here we simply haven’t checked, rather than know to be absent.
Canoe Lake is a Victorian park on the eastern end of Southsea Common, built around a man-made lake that has long been popular with families. Children tend to head for the summer splash pad and the play areas beside the water, and the lake is well known for crabbing and for its swans. Pedal boats shaped like swans can be hired to explore the water, and the nearby Lumps Fort Model Village and Southsea Rose Gardens give older children and adults something else to see. Cafes stand close by, and there is open grass for a picnic on a fine day. The park is open-access, so a visit can be as short or as long as suits the family. Some areas are seasonal, and the splash pad is unstaffed, so children need an adult alongside them at all times.
Stuff to take with you
The things people wish they’d packed for a day out like this one.
Wellies
Wristband for lost childrenWrite your number on it before you go in.
Refillable water bottleMost places will fill it for free.
Snacks that survive a rucksackCheaper than the café, and buys you twenty minutes.
Gloves- Blister plastersNew shoes and a long walk are a bad pairing.
- Rucksack rain cover
- Travel games
Flask of tea
Umbrella
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Photos: Anna Tesar, CC BY 2.0 · dorsetbays, CC BY-SA 2.0
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