Petersfield Parks and The Heath: The Pond, Play Areas and Green Spaces
Petersfield Town Council looks after the Heath and its pond, plus recreation grounds and play areas around the town. Here is what is at each one and the rules worth knowing.
The Heath is Petersfield's main park: the town council describes it as about 69 acres of land with a 22 acre pond, a short walk from the town centre, with a play area, cafe, toilets, boat hire in summer and fishing by day ticket. The council also runs play areas at Bell Hill, Woods Meadow, Borough Hill, Paddock Way and Penns Farm. Checked 5 October 2026.
The Heath and the pond
The Heath is owned and managed by Petersfield Town Council. Its Heath page describes the site as some 69 acres of land together with a 22 acre pond, a short walk from the town centre. The council lists a children's play area, walks, historic barrows, the cricket club, refreshments and toilets, and says the pond is home to many species of wildfowl.
The main entrance is on Heath Road. The council says that at the western end of the site there is a toilet block, which is not open 24 hours, a cafe that it describes as open 365 days of the year, and the children's play area. The toilets were modernised in a refurbishment project that started in March 2025, described on the council's Heath toilets page.
Vehicles are restricted because the Heath contains scheduled historic monuments, and they need permission before entering. If you want to hold an event there, the hireable area is reached from Heath Road and bookings go through the town council.
Boats on the pond
The council says boats are available for hire during the summer, and that snacks, drinks and ice cream are sold at the Heath kiosk, The Plump Duck. The council's page does not list hire prices, so check on site.
You can launch your own boat with a licence from the town council. Its boating page listed a day licence at £6.20 per vessel and an annual licence at £54.52 per vessel when we checked on 5 October 2026. Only enclosed vessels up to 2.36m by 1.12m are allowed. Open craft such as paddle boards are not permitted. Boats must be launched from the gravel area in front of the Heath Road main gates, not from the jetty. To arrange a licence, the council gives 01730 264182 and admin@petersfield-tc.gov.uk, and notes that its offices are closed at weekends.
Fishing
Fishing on the Heath Pond is run by volunteer bailiffs. The council's fishing page says day tickets and annual memberships are bought online through Swimbooker, and that questions go to fishing@petersfield-tc.gov.uk. Its Heath page adds that a bailiff will ask you to buy a day ticket if you are fishing without one.
Taro Fair
The Heath is the site of the annual Taro Fair, which the council says is held on 6 October every year unless that date is a Sunday. It began as a horse fair and is now a large funfair. Expect the Heath to be busy around that date.
Other parks and recreation grounds
The town council's land page lists its other open spaces. The table at the bottom of this page gives the postcode the council publishes for each.
Bell Hill Recreation Ground has a children's play area at its southern end and a small car park. The council says Petersfield Round Table holds a bonfire and fireworks display there every November.
Love Lane Sports Ground is home to Petersfield Town Football Club and Petersfield Town Juniors, and to the town's skate park, which the council says opened in 2010 with a street section and a bowl.
Avenue Playing Fields, next to the Avenue Pavilion, has four tennis courts, a basketball hoop, goal posts, a petanque terrain, a croquet lawn and a 20-space car park. Courts are booked online. The council's two pages about the courts disagree on cost when we checked: one says they are currently free, the other advertises pay and play and a £40 a year household membership. Check the booking site linked from the council's Avenue tennis page.
Penns Farm has rugby and football pitches, play equipment, a flat curved path the council recommends for learning to ride a bike, and a large free car park. Toilets are in the Taro Leisure Centre on the same site during its opening hours. A footpath leads on to Rotherlands.
Rotherlands Nature Reserve, beside Penns Farm, has meadows, woodland, ponds and walks along the River Rother. The council says a walk through the reserve and back takes less than an hour.
Woods Meadow, reached by a footpath north of North Road, has a gated play area, a kick-about area and basketball. Borough Hill has a play area and views across to Butser. Paddock Way has a play area and an informal football pitch. High Meadow is an open green space with views of Butser Hill. Goodyer Meadows, a 35 acre site behind Sussex Road bought by the council in 2019, is open for walks, and the council says it plans to develop it into a country park.
Reporting a problem
Broken play equipment, full bins or damage on any of these sites should go to the town council on 01730 264182 or through its contact form. For anything else, see our guide to who to report problems to in Petersfield.
Share this article