Swanpool Nature Reserve

The lake was formed after the last Ice Age when a shingle bar cut it off from the sea. The road between the lake and the beach now sits on this original shingle bar, which was responsible for the lake’s formation.

In 1826 a culvert was dug through the bar, draining much of the lake into the sea. Water still drains out of Swanpool through the culvert at the southern end, however, at high spring tides sea water rises above the culvert and flows back into Swanpool. As a result the lake is brackish – a mixture of salty and fresh water.  Brackish lake habitats are rare in Britain.  And Swanpool is unique because it is home to an animal not found living anywhere else in Britain – The Trembling Sea Mat.

To find out more about the Swanpool Nature Reserve and the trembling sea mat (Victorella pavida), please click here.