South Norwood Lake and Grounds

South Norwood Lake and Grounds is a park in South Norwood in the London Borough of Croydon. The main entrance is in Woodvale Avenue while other entrances are located in Auckland Road and Sylvan Road. The area measures up to 281⁄2 acres (11.53 hectares). As well as the lake, there is a bowling green, tennis and basketball courts, football pitches, a cricket pitch, a playground and a trim trail. The park has active park rangers and has a park ranger's office with adjoining public toilets. The lake was originally created as a reservoir for the Croydon Canal, which, from 1809 to 1836, ran between Croydon and the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross. As of May 2019, it is used by local anglers, who fish for carp, bream and perch among others, and Croydon Sailing Club. The lake is also home to a variety of aquatic birds including a number of great crested grebes as well as regularly sighted herons and ring-necked parakeets that can be seen nesting on the island. In 2004, blue green algae resulted in the death of significant numbers of fish, and the predominant species left were carp and perch. The lake itself has natural food sources for fish including a blood worm bar.