Baffins Pond is a well known and much-loved park in the heart of Portsmouth.
The varied landscape combines natural, wildlife features with a more formal city park. Baffins Pond and Tangier Field is 182,000 square metres (18.2 hectares) bordered by Tangier Road, Neville Road and Hayling Avenue, with footpath access from each of these roads. It is open at all times.
Read the management plan for Baffins Pond.
Natural attractions
The main attraction is the large natural pond, a diverse habitat for a wide range of flora and fauna. The pond is managed as a wildlife refuge for ducks and other wildfowl that people of all ages come to feed. Others come to observe warblers and other small species living in the reeds.
To the east of the pond area is Tangier Field, a large grassed open space which is a valuable habitat for Brent Geese visiting the Solent area in the winter months. Because Brent Geese are an internationally important protected species, there is no public access to the fenced enclosure between 1 October to 31 March, when the birds are in residence.
Feeding the waterfowl
Visitors can help keep Baffins Pond healthy by feeding in moderation (no bread please). Bread is not good for the birds’ health and adds considerable nutrients to the pond, creating ideal conditions for algae to grow. Excess algae reduces the quality of the water and turns it green.
Balanced nutrition is essential for the well-being of the birds and helps maintain a healthy pond. One of the best options for nutritional food is floating duck pellets. These can be purchased in many pet stored and some supermarkets in the pet section. The floating pellets ensure that more is eaten by the birds before it sinks below the water and less is left behind for rodents.
Other healthy options include lettuce, spinach and thawed peas. As peas do not all float, please feed these to birds on the bank.
Facilities
These facilities are available:
- play Area with equipment for all ages, and a sand pit. Recently upgraded to improve equipment and accessibility
- ball court with basketball and 5-a side goals (close to the play area)
- five-a-side goals in Tangier Field
Access
The roads surrounding Baffins Pond are on the local bus routes 13 and 14 with services to and from central Portsmouth and Southsea every 20 minutes during the week, every 30 minutes on Saturdays, hourly on Sundays.
Ample racking for bicycles is provided by the library.
A free public car park is located on Tangiers Road with direct access into the park.
All pond-side platforms are wheelchair accessible, as is the circular route encompassing the pond. There are unobstructed, hard surfaced entrance points around the park from adjacent roads and from the car park.
Rail access is via either Fratton station or Hilsea station. Both are around 2.5km away.