I love Lynmouth and Lynton, if it wasn't so busy I think I could spend a holiday there. Lynmouth straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn
rivers, in a gorge 700 feet below Lynton, which was the only place to
expand to once Lynmouth became as built-up as possible.
On the 15th and 16th of August 1952, a storm of tropical intensity broke
over south-west England, depositing 9.0 inches of rain
within 24 hours on the already saturated soil of Exmoor. It is thought that a cold front scooped up a thunderstorm, causing debris-laden floodwaters to cascade down the northern escarpment of the moor, converging upon the village of Lynmouth;
in particular, in the upper West Lyn valley, fallen trees and other
debris formed a dam, which in due course gave way, sending a huge wave
of water and debris down the river.
Overnight, more than 100 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged
along with 28 of the 31 bridges, and 38 cars were washed out to sea. In
total, 34 people died, with a further 420 made homeless. The seawall and
Rhenish Tower survived the main flood, but were seriously undermined.
The tower collapsed into the river the next day, causing another temporary
flood. Similar floods had been recorded at Lynmouth in 1607 and 1796. After the
1952 disaster, Lynmouth was rebuilt, including diverting the
river around the village.
The Valley Of Rocks is thought to have been formed during the Ice Age when the ice sheet prevented the East
Lyn River from reaching the sea on its normal route and was diverted
westwards. When the ice sheet retreated, the river was able to resume its
original path, leaving this valley riverless. Over the years, the valley
has silted up to become the U-shape it is now. The right-hand side of the valley is separated from the sea by a series of rocky cliffs, along which The South West Coast Path runs.
Dodging the showers, we managed to have a quick look around and take some ace photographs of the cliffs but, as time was pressing, we didn't really do the place justice. Hopefully the next time we go, we will stay longer and have a proper walk and explore.
Our last port of call for the day was Watersmeet which was a couple of miles out of Lynmouth and which lies at the bottom of a steep wooded valley where the East Lyn River and Farley Waters meet in a series of waterfalls and cascades. It is one of those places where, whatever superlative you use to describe it, falls well short of the mark. It is without doubt the most beautiful woodland area I have ever visited, and every step we took was a pure joy. We walked up in to Barton Wood which is all native woodland and then back down to Watersmeet House where we sat outside and had a coffee. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing one evergreen tree in the entire area. I should imagine it is spectacular when all the autumn colours are on show.
Reluctantly, we toiled our way out of the valley and back to the car and then drove back over Exmoor. The road we returned on came out only a stone's throw from Torre Cider farm, but sadly it was closed for the day, so it was back to Watchet.
A long but incredible day. We had seen the best of all worlds: coastal, woodland and moorland scenery.
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Porlock Bay from Exmoor
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Bristol Channel from Exmoor
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Exmoor Trees
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| Exmoor |
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| Myrtleberry Cleave, Lynmouth |
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Windy Hill, Lynmouth
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| Lynmouth |
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| Rhenish Tower, Lynmouth |
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| Lynmouth |
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| Lynmouth |
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| Valley of Rocks |
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| Valley of Rocks |
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| Valley of Rocks |
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Valley of Rocks
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| Waterfall, Watersmeet |
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Waterfall, Watersmeet
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| Watersmeet |
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| Watersmeet |
