Swanpool, Cornwall

{{Short description|Small coastal saline lagoon on the south coast of Cornwall, England}}

File:The Swanpool, Falmouth, Cornwall - geograph.org.uk - 798000.jpg

Swanpool ({{langx|kw|Lynnyeyn Pryskelow}}, meaning cold pool of the elm thicket) is a small coastal saline lagoon with a shingle bar, separating it from the beach of the same name. The South West Coast Path crosses the bar. The pool is near the town of Falmouth, on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK, between Maenporth and Gyllyngvase. A notable building in the area is Swanpool House, a 19th-century building which was occupied by American forces during the Second World War but is now in use as holiday apartments. There was formerly a mine extending beneath the lagoon.{{cite web |url=http://www.mindat.org/loc-919.html |title=Swanpool Mine |publisher=Mindat.org |access-date=29 June 2017}}

Natural history

Coastal saline lagoons are water bodies that are fed by saline water, in this case from the adjacent sea of Falmouth Bay, either by percolation through the bar, or, by restricted inlets such as a sluice. Swanpool also receives freshwater from a small stream and from rainfall. The water of Swanpool has permanent vertical stratification with variation in the salinity with depth.{{cite web|last=Bamber|first=R N|title=Coastal saline lagoons and the Water Framework Directive|url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/41015?category=10006|work=Natural England Commissioned Report NECR039|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=16 August 2013|year=2010}}

File:Swanpool-Swan-family.jpg

The pool is a Local Nature Reserve,[http://swanpool.org.uk/ Swanpool Local Nature Reserve website]{{cite web|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=&ID=446 |title=Swanpool |series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=1 August 2013}}{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271009181%27|title=Map of Swanpool|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=1 August 2013}} and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.{{cite web|title=Swanpool|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000095.pdf|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=28 October 2011|year=1995|archive-date=24 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024225136/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000095.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|last=Gainey|first=P. A.|others=Downey, A. J.;Tonkin, B|title=Trembling sea-mat: baseline distribution in England and species action plan (Introduction)|publisher=English Nature|year=1997|series=English Nature Research Reports, No. 225|pages=1|issn=0967-876X}} It is of scientific importance as it is one of the few locations that has the perfect salinity for the growth of the trembling sea mat (Victorella pavida), a bryozoan.[http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Victorellapavida.htm Marine life information network website: Victorella pavida] Some other species of fauna and flora at Swanpool are:

mallard, moorhen, mute swan, coot, water rail, kingfisher, little grebe, siskin, tufted duck, cuckoo flower and yellow flag iris

=Swanvale nature reserve=

There is also a small Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserve called Swanvale which runs from the northern end of Swanpool towards the town. It comprises mostly willow carr, which provides shelter for many small birds and mammals.

Swanpool mine

Swanpool mine is {{convert|80|fathom}} deep and produced £60,000 worth of silver-lead ore. It started in the early 18th century, closing in 1865 and recommenced on 22 November 1880, financed by Sir Julius Vogel and his friends.{{cite news|title=Falmouth|work=The Cornishman|issue=124|date=25 November 1880|page=5}} It closed shortly after 1885.{{cite news |title=The Mineral Resources of Falmouth |work=The Cornishman |issue=429 |date=30 September 1886 |page=7}}

Art

There is a painting by Wallace Martin, Falmouth Grammar School Swimming Sports at Sunny Cove, near Swanpool, Falmouth, dated to 1951.{{cite web |title=Falmouth Grammar School Swimming Sports at Sunny Cove, near Swanpool, Falmouth |url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/falmouth-grammar-school-swimming-sports-at-sunny-cove-near-swanpool-falmouth-14691 |website=Art UK |access-date=8 January 2023}}

Visitor facilities

Swanpool Beach is a training ground for kayaking, paddleboarding and coasteering, with a beach café, a beach restaurant, Hooked (formerly the Three Mackerels Restaurant), car-parking (charge in summer), a public lavatory and crazy golf. Dogs are not allowed on the beach between Easter Sunday and 1 October.

References

External links

[http://swanpool.org.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=36 Swanpool Management Plan 2001-2006 (pdf format)].
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140521033616/http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature_reserves/where_to_find_the_nature_reserves_1/Cornwall_Wildlife_Trust_Swanvale_nature_reserve_Falmouth.htm Swanvale nature reserve at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's website]

Category:Beaches of Cornwall

Category:Falmouth, Cornwall

Category:Lagoons of the United Kingdom

Category:Local Nature Reserves in Cornwall

Category:Nature reserves of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1995