Geograph - photograph every grid square

Lopwell was a traditional river quay serving nearby mines and farmland, and used by the monks of Buckland Abbey. Silver and lead were once exported, and coal and lime imported. From the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries, pleasure steamers from Plymouth also used to call in here.

"Lopwell has long been a tidal fording point, and a ferry also operated here until around 1930. Before the dam was built, the river was navigable further inland. Upriver were Lopwell lime kilns, where lime was burned for use in sweetening the soil.

"There was also a small quay where flat-bottomed Tamar barges brought ‘dock dung’ (sweepings from the streets of Plymouth), which was used as a fertiliser, returning with woodland products.

"Plymouth City Council built the dam in 1953, incorporating a fish pass to allow migration upriver to spawning grounds. The old pumphouse beside the car park, (which featured as the surgery in the 1990’s BBC TV series “The Vet”), was replaced by a new underground pumphouse in 1981. This is now covered by a Butterfly Meadow, open to the public. The old barn next to the public toilets is now a Camping Barn." Link (Archive Link )

Taken from the path to the Butterfly Meadow above the pumping station. The first building on the right houses the public toilets.