Dozmary Pool

Dozmary Pool

Location	Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
Coordinates	50°32′32″N 4°33′01″W / 50.5423°N 4.5502°W / 50.5423; -4.5502Coordinates: 50°32′32″N 4°33′01″W / 50.5423°N 4.5502°W / 50.5423; -4.5502
Basin countries	United Kingdom

Surface area	14.9 ha / 36.8 acres
Shore length¹	1.5 km / 0.9 mi
Surface elevation	268 m / 879 ft

Islands	none
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Map showing the location of Dozmary Pool within Cornwall.^[1]

Dozmary Pool is a small lake, in the civil parish of Altarnun on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, UK. It is situated 16.9 kilometres (10.5 mi) from the sea^[1] and lies about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north-east of Bodmin and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Bolventor. It originated in the post-glacial period. The outflow from the pool is into Colliford Lake and is therefore one of the sources of the River Fowey. In the past the name has been spelt as Dozmaré and as Dosmery Pool.^[2] At the end of the 19th century it was described by Sabine Baring-Gould as abounding in fish and surrounded by numerous remains of the working of flint in the Stone Age.^[3]

The pool and surrounding area was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1951 for its biological interest and is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, (originally the Bodmin Moor AONB).^[4]

Wildlife and ecology

The oligotrophic pool is important for its palynological record (or history) of the vegetation since the last ice-age. It is also part of a network of sites in south-west England for the reconstruction of vegetation history. In the fine granitic gravel on the bottom of the pool grows spring quillwort (Isoetes echinospora). At the time of designation in 1951 it was the only known site in Cornwall, but since 1988 has been found in three nearby pools.^[4]^[5] Growing on the margins of the pool is six-stamened waterwort (Elatine hexandra), a nationally scarce plant in the UK.^[4]

Richard Carew describes the pool as a mile or more in circumference and nowhere more than 9 ft (2.7 m) deep. He tells how some gentlemen of the district experimented to see whether the pool contained fish and found only eels.^[6] A rare cladoceran, Drepanothrix dentate and a copepod, Diaptomus vierzejskii occur in good numbers.^[4]

In 1951, at the time of designation of the SSSI, the pool was considered valuable for wintering birds and migrating wildfowl such as Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), Eurasian teal (Anas crecca) and Eurasian wigeon (A penelope).^[4] Since the opening of the Siblyback and Colliford reservoirs on Bodmin Moor, its relative importance has declined.^[7] Breeding birds around the pool include Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata), dunlin (Calidris alpina), northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and European stonechat (Saxicola torquate).^[4]

Legendary tales

It is one site that is claimed to be the home of the Lady of the Lake. According to the legend, it is here that King Arthur rowed out to the Lady of the Lake and received the sword Excalibur. The pool is also the place where Bedivere returned Excalibur as Arthur lay dying after the Battle of Camlann.^[8] Another tale associated with Dozmary Pool is that of Jan Tregeagle. In search of deviant exploits, Tregeagle makes a Faustian bargain with the Devil and is given money and power. At the conclusion of his life, he is damned to the bottomless Dozmary Pool, where he is tormented to this day; it is said that Tregeagle's ghost can still be heard howling across the moor.^[9] (He was set the task of dipping the water out of Dozmary Pool with a leaking limpet shell, but decided to escape to Roche Rock before being set another task, weaving ropes from the sand of Gwenor Cove.)

References

1 2 "Data sheet:Dozmary Pool". Retrieved April 3, 2009.
↑ Cornish, Thomas (1 August 1878). "Dosmery Pool. Explanaton of its Existence and Phenomena". The Cornishman.
↑ Baring-Gould, S. (1899). A Book of the West ... Vol. 2: Cornwall. London: Methuen, p. 87
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dozmary Pool" (PDF). Natural England. 1986. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
↑ Bennallick, Ian J; French, Colin N; Parslow, Rosemary E (2009). Vascular Plants. In Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (2nd ed.). Croceago Press. pp. 105–157.
↑ Carew, Richard (1602) The Survey of Cornwall; ed. with an introduction by F. E. Halliday. London: Andrew Melrose, 1953; reissued in 1969 by Adams & Dart, London ISBN 0-238-78941-1; pp. 192-93
↑ Penhallurick, Roger D (1978). The Birds of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Penzance: Headland Publications. p. 478. ISBN 0 905920 02 3.
↑ Bishop, Ray (1994). North Cornwall Camera. Bodmin: Bossiney Books. ISBN 0-948158-97-2.
↑ Thompson, E.V. (1984). 100 years on Bodmin Moor. St Teath: Bossiney Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-906456-90-8.

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Summary	Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

Cornwall	Aire Point to Carrick Du Amble Marshes Baulk Head to Mullion Bedruthan Steps and Park Head Boconnoc Park and Woods Bodmin Moor, North Borlasevath and Retallack Moor Boscastle to Widemouth Brendonmoor Breney Common Bude Coast Cabilla Manor Wood Caerthillian to Kennack Carnkief Pond Carrick Heaths Carricknath Point to Porthbean Beach Carrine Common & Penwethers Chyenhal Moor Cligga Head Coombe Mill Coverack to Porthoustock Crow's Nest Crowhill Valley Dozmary Pool Draynes Wood East Lizard Heathlands Eglarooze Cliff Gerrans Bay to Camels Cove Godrevy Head to St Agnes Goonhilly Downs Goss and Tregoss Moors Greenamoor Greenscoombe Wood, Luckett Grimscott Gwithian to Mexico Towans Hayle Estuary & Carrack Gladden Kelsey Head Kennack to Coverack Kernick and Ottery Meadows Loe Pool Loggans Moor Lower Bostraze and Leswidden Lower Fal & Helford Intertidal Lymsworthy Meadows Lynher Estuary Malpas Estuary Marazion Marsh Meddon Moor Meneage Coastal Section Merthen Wood Minster Church Mullion Cliff to Predannack Cliff Nance Wood Newlyn Downs Ottery Valley Park Wood Penhale Dunes Pentire Peninsula Phoenix United Mine Plymouth Sound Shores And Cliffs Polruan to Polperro Polyne Quarry Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point Rame Head & Whitsand Bay Red Moor Redlake Meadows & Hoggs Moor Retire Common River Camel Valley and Tributaries Rock Dunes Rosemullion Rosenannon Bog and Downs St Austell Clay Pits St John's Lake St Nectan's Glen Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth Swanpool Sylvia's Meadow Talland Barton Tamar–Tavy Estuary Tintagel Cliffs Treen Cliff Tregonetha & Belowda Downs Tregonning Hill Trehane Barton Trelow Downs Trevose Head and Constantine Bay Upper Fal Estuary and Woods Upper Fowey Valley Ventongimps Moor West Cornwall Bryophytes West Lizard

Isles of Scilly	Annet Big Pool and Browarth Point Castle Down (Tresco) Chapel Down Eastern Isles Great Pool Gugh Higher Moors and Porth Hellick Pool Lower Moors Norrard Rocks Peninnis Head Pentle Bay, Merrick And Round Islands Plains and Great Bay Pool Of Bryher & Popplestone Bank Rushy Bay and Heathy Hill Samson Shipman Head & Shipman Down St Helen's St Martin's Sedimentary Shore Teän Western Rocks White Island Wingletang Down

Neighbouring areas Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Devon Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/4/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.