Bars

Bars form in the same way as a spit initially, but bars are created where a spit grows across a bay, joining two headlands. Behind the bar, a lagoon is created, where water has been trapped. Sometimes the lagoon remains creating a brackish environment supporting a wide range of flora and fauna.

However, in some cases the lagoon may gradually be infilled as a salt marsh develops due to it being a low energy zone, which encourages deposition.

A well known example of a bar is Slapton Sands, situated on Start Bay in South Devon.

Slapton Sands is a misleading name, as it is actually a three mile long straight shingle beach, stretching from one headland at Strete Gate to another by the village of Torcross.

The area is a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the habitat and the rare species which thrive in the unique conditions.

The bar started to be formed over 10,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age and its formation led to the creation of Slapton Ley, the largest natural freshwater lake in the South West of England.

The Ley actually consists of two leys, a Lower Ley and a Higher Ley. The higher ley to the north consists of rich fen vegetation and wet willow woodland (called Carr) with the larger open-water lower ley to the south with its underwater plant life and reed fringes.