The Loe

The Loe (Cornish: An Logh), also known as Loe Pool, is the largest natural freshwater lake (50 ha and maximum depth of 6 m) in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Situated between Porthleven and Gunwalloe and downstream of Helston it is separated from the sea by the shingle bank of Loe Bar. Both the Loe (including the southern arm known as Carminowe Creek) and Loe Bar are situated within the Penrose Estate, administered by the National Trust,[1] and are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England.[2]  It is also designated as an Area of Outstanding Beauty AONB[3] and is considered a classic Geological Conservation Review Site.[4]

The Loe was originally the estuary of the River Cober, a ria or drowned river valley now blocked by a sand and shingle bar with a fresh water lake behind. The valley can be traced several kilometres out to sea.[5] The age of the bar is disputed, with estimates ranging from several thousand years to c. 700 years. The most likely origin is a barrier beach, that gradually moved onshore, as the sea level rose during the Holocene. The shingle coming from drowned terraces of the former river that flowed down the English channel.[4] It is thought that Longshore Drift plays an important part in the maintenance of the Bar, with a strong current flowing to the south-east from Porthleven to Gunwalloe, depositing shingle along the Bar. The ebb flow is not a simple reverse flow and is not strong enough to remove all the deposits.[6] The bar itself is a sediment sink as far as the overall beach budget is concerned.[4] The deposits have been tentatively dated as Eocene, and compared with Gunwalloe beach material very little of the Loe Bar shingle is locally derived. The composition of the Bar deposits are: Chalk flint 86%, Quartz 9%, Grit 2.6%, Greensand chert 2% and Serpentine 0.5%.[6] The nearest onshore source is 120 miles away in East Devon.[7]

To prevent flooding in parts of Helston, the Bar has occasionally been breached, a practice known locally as "cutting". However, it has always naturally resealed itself.[7]

Contents

Historical Records

Site of Special Scientific Interest

The beach from Porthleven to Gunwalloe is important for coastal geomorphology as it is formed by a barrier beach moving onshore since the Holecene and maintained by a predominantly south-west wave regime. During storms the Bar can be overrun by the sea forming a series of washover fans resulting in, annual laminated sediments, which are unique in Great Britain. The habitat is unique in Cornwall with rare species of plants, bryophytes, algae and insects. It is also an important overwintering site for nearly 80 species of birds and up to 1200 wildfowl. At the last assessment on 8th September, 2010 the lake was found to be unfavourable condition, with no change from the previous assessment. The reasons being inappropriate water levels, and water pollution due to agriculture run off and discharge.

Loe Bar is the only site in Britain where the subspecies leechi of the Sandhill Rustic moth is found.[15]

Porcellio dilatatus is an uncommon species of woodlouse with scattered records from most of the British Isles. Loe Pool is the only Cornish site. Also found on each of the inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly.[16]

Folklore

The Loe is reputed to be the lake in which Sir Bedivere cast King Arthur's sword, Excalibur.[7]

A local legend states that the giant Tregeagle was doomed to remove the sand from Gunwalloe to Porthleven, from which the sea would return it. In the course of one of his journeys he is said to have dropped a bag of sand at the entrance of Helston harbour and so to have formed the Bar.[8][7] Local superstition also warns that the Loe claims a victim every seven years.[7]

References

  1. ^ National Trust. Penrose Estate: Gunwalloe and Loe Pool. Accessed 28 November 2010.
  2. ^ Natural England. SSSI units for Loe Pool. Accessed 28 November 2010.
  3. ^ Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. http://www.cornwall-aonb.gov.uk/
  4. ^ a b c May, V.J. Loe Bar. In May, V.J. and Hansom, J.D. (2003) Coastal Geomorphology of Great Britain, Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 28, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 754 pp.
  5. ^ http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/geomincentre/03Porthleven%20to%20Polurrian.pdf
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Murphy, R.J., (1986). A Study of Loe Bar. In Cornish Studies 14:23-33.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Le. Messurier, B. and Luck, L. (1998) Loe Pool and Mount's Bay. No. 12 in The National Trust Coast of Cornwall series of leaflets.
  8. ^ a b Toy, H. S. (1936) The History of Helston. Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Chope, R. P. (Ed.) (1918). Early Tours in Devon and Cornwall. Itinerary of John Leland (1534-43), pp. 30-1, cited in Murphy, R. J. (1986). A Study of Loe Bar. In Cornish Studies 14:23-33.
  10. ^ Martin, B. (c. 1770). The Natural History of Cornwall and Devonshire.
  11. ^ Rendle, J. M. (1837). Report on the practicability of forming a Harbour at the mouth of Loe Pool, in Mount’s Bay, near Helston in the County of Cornwall. Plymouth: J. B. Rowe, cited in Murphy, R. J. (1986). A Study of Loe Bar. In Cornish Studies 14:23-33.
  12. ^ Esquiros, A. (1865). Cornwall and its Coasts. Chapman and Hall, cited in Murphy, R. J. (1986). A Study of Loe Bar. In Cornish Studies 14:23-33.
  13. ^ Chapman, V. J. (1964). Coastal Vegetation. Pergamon Press, cited in Murphy, R. J. (1986). A Study of Loe Bar. In Cornish Studies 14:23-33.
  14. ^ West Briton, 22 Feb., 1979, cited in Murphy, R. J. (1986). A Study of Loe Bar. In Cornish Studies 14:23-33.
  15. ^ Natural England. Loe Pool SSSI Designation. Accessed 28 November 2010.
  16. ^ Gainey, P.A., Neil, C.J. and Turk, S.M. (2009) Freshwater and Terrestrial Crustacea. In CISFBR, Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition. Praze-an-Beeble: Croceago Press.

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