I live within a few hundred metres of the bar where the Taw And Torridge rivers empty into Bideford bay, it is a very dangerous feature of the river and in the past many ships " Crossing the Bar" even with a pilot came to grief when under sail. at certain times the sound of the waves on the bar sounds like moaning... the poet uses his knowledge of the sea really well to allude to death and moving through dangers to peace.... Doom Bar in Devon And cornwall is also a well loved Beer.