123


© Copyright N Chadwick/ geograph.org.uk


Heritage During WWII, the whole area around Slapton was used by American forces to prepare for the invasion of europe. 3,000 people from seven parishes had to leave, taking with them everything they owned and find somewhere else to live for almost a year. The memorial by the car park on Slapton Sands is to the sacrifice of those local residents who had to wrench themselves away from their homes for the war effort. One casualty of the war was the Royal Sands Hotel, a grand and well known old edifice which once stood where the car park is now. The damage began with a stray sheepdog which set off mines close to the hotel. Intensive live artillery exercises on the beach finished it off.


The village of Slapton has been around for millennia.


There were settlements here in the Bronze Age, followed by a fort during the Iron Age. Until recently Slapton – whose name means ‘slippery place’ – could only be reached along narrow lanes from inland. That, along with the fact that it is invisible from the sea, means that the village has had a fairly peaceful as well as long existence. The atmospheric tower you can see looming over Slapton Village is now mainly a home for rooks and bats. Centuries ago, it was part of a college chantry for priests. Sir Guy de Brian, the local lord of the manor, built the chantry in 1373, on condition that a mass be sung for his soul each year.


Landscape The shingle ridge of Slapton Sands is mainly made up of flints, washed up from the seabed 25 miles offshore. Mixed in with them are traces of granite washed down from the moor and flakes and chips of local rocks, schist and slate. Slapton Ley is the largest natural expanse of freshwater in South West England. When the shingle ridge of Slapton Sands was pushed up by rising seas after the last ice age, the lagoon formed behind it, fed by streams and the river Gara. Unusual as a landform and with rare and important habitats, the area around Slapton Ley is designated as a Site of Special Scientifi c Interest (SSSI). It is also a National Nature Reserve.


Photo © N Chadwick (cc-by-sa/2.0)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148