The Tarn
| The Tarn | |
|---|---|
The woodland of The Tarn, September 2020, looking north across the lake | |
| Type | Public park Nature reserve |
| Location | Mottingham in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°26′24″N 0°03′18″E / 51.440°N 0.055°E |
| Area | 9 acres (3.6 ha) (total) 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) (bird sanctuary) 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) (public park) 2 acres (0.81 ha) (lake) |
| Created | 1934 (acquired) 1935 (opened) |
| Owned by | Royal Borough of Greenwich |
| Open | 8am - dusk |
| Status | Open all year |
| Awards | Green Flag Award (2012-2021) |
| Public transit access | Mottingham railway station, buses: 124, 126, 161, 624 |
| Website | The Tarn at www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk |
.jpg){kind=link}
The Tarn is a 9 acres (3.6 ha) site on Court Road between Mottingham and Eltham, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, southeast London, United Kingdom, consisting of a public garden, a bird sanctuary nature reserve and a lake amongst woodland. The woodland and lake, which was historically known as Starbuck's Pond, were previously the southern part of the Great Park, one of three parks belonging to the estate of Eltham Palace and used as a royal deer hunting park for several centuries up until the English Civil War. As a garden The Tarn opened in 1935, after the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich acquired the site from the adjacent Royal Blackheath Golf Course. The Tarn remains largely unchanged since the 1930s and contains several shelters, benches, a public toilets building and a circular path which crosses a wooden footbridge spanning the lake. There is also an 18th-century ice well in the garden, which is a listed structure.