CANOE LAKE AND ROSE GARDENS, SOUTHSEA.
The Canoe Lake area has a wide variety of landscapes ranging from the grassland area close to the lake, to the formal planting of the Rose
Gardens within the remains of Lumps Fort.
Canoe Lake was constructed from a remnant of the Great Morass, a large area of marshland that was centred north east of Southsea castle,
the majority of the Great Morass was drained during the early 19th century.
Canoe Lake was opened on 17th June 1886 by the Mayor, A.S. Blake, Esq and was initially used for sailing model yachts but was
quickly used for canoeing and boating.
The Rose Garden, just to the east of Canoe Lake, is housed in the remains of Lumps Fort.
Lumps Fort was constructed between 1859 and 1869 as part of the Portsmouth defences.In 1914 it was redeployed as a beach
defence battery and was disused by the end of the first world war.
Other facilities in this area include grass and hard tennis courts, bowls greens, putting, St Helen's field
cricket field and the Model Village.
The area around Canoe Lake has large open gass areas and is a popular spot for picnics during the summer. A new childrens activity area has been added to
the area between Canoe Lake and the Model Village and includes water features for splashing about in and a zip wire ride.
