Dozmary Pool

Lake in Cornwall, England

Dozmary Pool is a small lake, in the civil parish of Altarnun on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, UK. It is situated from the sea 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).

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. Growing on the margins of the pool is six stamened waterwort (Elatine hexandra), a nationally scarce plant in the UK. A rare cladoceran, Drepanothrix dentate and a copepod, Diaptomus vierzejskii occur in good numbers. In 1951, at the time of designation of the Site of Special Scientific Interest, 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). 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). Another tale associated with Dozmary Pool is that of Jan Tregeagle. In search of deviant exploits, Tregeagle makes a deal 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. (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). The legend of Tregeagle was particularly strong in the 19th century, although the belief that Dozmary Pool was bottomless was disproved when, in 1899, it dried up completely. Sabine Baring Gould included an extensive article on the witch's ladder in his novel Curgenven published in 1893. In his account the ladder was made of black wool, with white and brown thread, and at every two inches it was tied around cock's feathers. The maker would weave into it aches and pains and other ailments intended for the victim. The ladder was then thrown to the bottom of Dozmary Pool. They believed that as the bubbles rose to the top of the pond, the curse was released.

Perhaps because of the links to Arthurian legend, Dozmary Pool has long been considered a place to visit, although accessibility was poor until well into the 20th century. A Ward Lock travel guide from the 1920s says of it that 'A more out of the way spot than Dozmary Pool could hardly be found in Great Britain' and describes the walk from Camelford Station as 'impossible'. For many years Dozmary Pool was the destination for the Sunday School outing from Bolventor Methodist chapel.

Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, have been held at Dozmary Pool.