Much of the Lynmouth you see today - including the Rhenish Tower, Lynmouth Street bridge and the harbour wall - is a reconstruction of buildings and structures wrecked in a terrible flood in August 1952. As graphically depicted in the local museum.
Lynmouth itself is one of the most picturesque fishing villages on this beautiful unspoilt stretch of Devon"s rugged North coast. Quaint craft shops jostle for space along the busy waterfront with pretty tea rooms and friendly welcoming pubs.
Bounded by the Bristol Channel on one side, and Exmoor National Park on the other, Lynmouth offers unrivalled access to breathtaking coastal walks and drives. Views change constantly and are never less than dazzling.
Lynton and Lynmouth are like twins, one village complementing the other.
Lynmouth is wedged between a steep cliff and the ocean on North Devon's coast, while Lynton looks down from the 500ft (152m) high clifftop on her twin. The views from either are glorious. You can see, on a clear day, across to the Welsh coast.
But proximity is about all these twins have in common. Lynmouth is a traditional fishing village with stone houses, and Lynton is a Victorian-Edwardian village, many of its homes turned into seaside villas and hotels.
Lynmouth was described by Thomas Gainsborough, who honeymooned there with his 16 year old bride Harriet Westbrook, as "the most delightful place for a landscape painter this country can boast".
Lynmouth harbour Renish Tower
This is the Famous Renish Tower. Built originally as a beacon to warn ships of the rocky coast line. It was altered to accommodate a water tank to feed Sea water to the Sea water Baths.
Lynmouth's 14th century thatched smuggler's inn is now a hotel as is Tregonwell, a Victorian stone house built for a sea captain. Nearby an 1832 fishing lodge, Watersmeet House, nestles in a beautiful tree-lined gorge at the confluence of the East Lyn and Hoar Oak Water. Have a cup of tea at the National Trust teashop here, and amble on paths under green canopied skies.
Renish Tower and Lynmouth Harbour
The Rhenish Tower at Lynmouth
Lynton and Lynemouth owe their popularity as tourist destinations to Napoleon. Denied their usual continental holiday haunts because of the Napoleonic Wars, Britains sought out homegrown spots and found dramatic cliffs and coastlines here. The poet, Shelley, stayed here for several months with his bride and named the area, "Little Switzerland". Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge are other literary figures who found the area amenable for writing. It is said Samuel Taylor Coleridge was inspired to write "The Ancient Mariner" after viewing Lynmouth's harbour.
Lynmouth
Riverside Road, Lynmouth
Lynmouth Harbour
Foreland Lighthouse
Lynmouth, where the East and West Lyn river meet, found
fame following the 1952 flooding disaster. The Cliff Railway a funicular,
also called funicular railway or inclined railway, which connects to
neighbouring Lynton is a popular attraction.
Lynmouth harbour inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The
Ancient Mariner". Known as England's Little Switzerland,
are made of two deep wooded valleys carved out by the East and West Lyn river which give Lynton& Lynmouth
its spectacular scenery.
The twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth have
a magnificent setting on the Exmoor Coast.
Lynton is an attractive village with a museum and a wide
choice of bustling restaurants, cafes, teashops and places where arts
and crafts can be purchased. The imposing Town Hall is the venue for
films, drama and exhibitions and the home of the Tourist
Information Centre.
Six hundred feet below Lynton is the harbour of Lynmouth
linked by the famous cliff
railway. Reminders of the disastrous floods in 1952 can be found
in an exhibition in the Memorial Hall. The West
and East Lyn rivers combine to flow into the sea at Lynmouth Harbour.
Boat trips and sea fishing excursions are among the many attractions
of this delightful village.
The spectacular deciduous tree covered slopes behind Lynmouth
The coastline near Lynton and Lynmouth has some wonderful
features including the Valley of the
Rocks where wild goats may be seen high up on the cliffs. The Glen
Lyn Gorge and Watersmeet are beautiful
natural attractions.
One of Exmoor's most popular places to stay, Lynmouth was
hit by a tragic flood in 1952. It's lovely setting includes a harbour
with sea fishing trips while the Cliff Railway operated by water power
links it with Lynton 150 yards up a steep incline. The Exmoor
National Park Visitor Centre on the Esplanade not only provides useful
information but tells the story of the famous rescue in 1897 when the
lifeboat Louisa was hauled overland to Porlock Weir. There are lovely
walks along the West Lyn river Gorge or East Lyn to Watersmeet.
There is also an excellent choice of places to stay and eat. Great attractions
include the Exmoor Brass
Rubbing Centre, the coastal path to Foreland Point and the Lighthouse.
Lynmouth Devon - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Lynmouth Hill Devon - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Lynmouth Pier Devon - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Lynmouth is a village , located on the northern edge of Exmoor, at the
confluence of the West Lyn river and East Lyn rivers. It was described by Thomas
Gainsborough (Thomas Gainsborough: English portrait and landscape painter
(1727-1788)) , who honeymooned there with his 16 year old bride Harriet
Westbrook, as:
"the most delightful place for a landscape painter this country
can boast".
Lynton and Lynmouth
Lynmouth's men performed a heroic task in 1899 when they hauled a lifeboat 13 miles over land to Porlock to rescue the crew of The Forrest Hall, a ship foundering in the bad weather and stormy seas that prohibited the lifeboat launch at Lynmouth
Tragedy struck Lynmouth in 1952. The rivers East and West Lyn river flow to the sea in a deep cleft between the cliffs, and that was the starting point for disaster when flood swollen waters swept through the village of Lynmouth, hurtling mud and 40,000 tons of boulders and tree trunks on the unsuspecting inhabitants. Homes, roads and bridges were destroyed. Thirty-four people met a sad end - see The Lynmouth Flood Disaster
Lynmouth and Lynton, on a heritage coast, are part of Exmoor National Park. Hikers can walk the Southwest Coast Path, which passes through the villages, from Minehead in the east to Combe Martin in the west.
Dramatic moorland covered with purple heather and yellow gorse vies for attention with rugged rocky coves demanding exploration. Nearby, buzzards and red deer hint at the wildness of the area. And stories such as Lorna Doone, of infamous fictional fame, set amidst the countryside, add to the legends of this land.
One mile (2km) to the west (you can walk it along the North Cliff Walk) is the Valley
of The Rocks, a natural gorge between two ridges of hills. Here sandstone and shale fought unsuccessfully with the wind, and the result is such aptly named rocks as "Devil's Cheeswring" and "Ragged Jack". The rocks are playthings for wild mountain goats.
This wild and beautiful land of surging seas, towering cliffs, rocky headlands and wooded ravines plays reluctant host to man in scenic settings like Lynmouth and Lynton.
Shelley's hotel. The poet Shelley honeymooned here at the age of 20 with his 16year old bride Harriet Westbrook and his entourage in 1812.
Lynmouth Harbour
Lynmouth Gorge
The name Lynmouuth is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon hlynn meaning torrent giving Lynmouth the literal name of 'town on the torrent'
'Lyn' is from the Old English 'hlynn', meaning a torrent, very appropriate for the East and West Lyn rivers which give their name.to the two towns still widely remembered for a flood tragedy of incredible summer rains in 1952 - 300 million gallons (1,400,000,000 litres) of rain fell on The Chains, a marshy watershed above Linton and Lynmouth, within five hours. The soil was already saturated with previous rainfall: the result was a heavy loss of life and devastation to property in Lynmouth.
Perhaps one of the nicest approaches to Lynmouth, if you can arrange it, is on foot from Watersmeet (park at OS map grid reference 740477) down the left bank of the river. This is an absolute joy, bringing the walker to Lynmouth and the sea. There are pleasant shops, inns and cafes here, and also the famous waterpowered Cliff Railway which plies between Lynmouth and the sister town of Lynton (where there is an interesting museum and many other facilities for visitors).
Lynmouth Harbour - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
The Rhenish Tower at Lynmouth
At Lynmouth the replica of a Rhenish tower on the solid stone jetty attracts great interest. Built by General Rawdon, it is an imitation of a tower on the Rhine and was intended as a beacon light for mariners and fishermen. At one time a prosperous herring fishing fleet worked out of Lynmouth, but numbers of herring around the coast have long since dwindled.
Marine Current Turbines was fomed to develop technology for exploiting flowing water in general and tidal streams in particular, the first phase of this ambitious project has commenced with the installation of a 300kW single 11m diameter rotor off Lynmouth Bay.
Lynmouth is probably the busiest attraction in the National Park, but the tourism is seasonal and winter is quiet. Its attraction derives chiefly from its spectacular setting at the mouths of the wooded gorges of the East and West Lyn rivers, hemmed in by gigantic cliffs. Few sit on the pebbly beach but jet skiing, boat trips and surfing are popular when conditions are favourable. There are many gift shops and eating places, a National Park Centre, two museums to the 1952 flood disaster which made the village famous, and the equally famous Cliff Railway to Lynton
Hotel Lynmouth 1921 - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Hotel Lynmouth 1921 - photo presented with the kind permisssion of www.grumpystumpy.com
Lynmouth: cove village, semi-circled by beautiful oak-and-hazel wooded hillsides. From valleys through these rush two bouldered rivers (lovely walks beside) to join in the village and pour past its street of shops, pubs and pretty cottages to its harbour, rocky beach and sea. Flat seafront walk beside good public lawns/garden (putting, tennis); coastal boat trips. Steep winding road and a funicular railway connect with hill-topLynton(more shops, museum): the very spectacular Valley of the Rocks begins on Lynton’s edge. Marvellous walking country, valley or hill-top. For beaches,Woolacombe(superb sand/surf), about 20 miles (decent road).
OS Grid Reference: SS7249
Beach Type: Pebbles/Rock - Dogs: Dogs
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