The East Lyn is a river which rises high in

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. ...

, in the English county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. It flows through the

East Lyn Valley East Lyn Valley is a valley of Exmoor, covering northern Devon and western Somerset, England. The East Lyn River is formed from several main tributaries including Hoar Oak Water beginning near Weir Water. Its mouth is at Lynmouth at the confluen ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Watercourse

The river is formed as the Upper East Lyn at

Malmsmead Malmsmead is a hamlet on the border between the English counties of Devon and Somerset. The nearest town is Lynton, which lies approximately west of the hamlet. The hamlet is situated in the Doone Valley within the Exmoor National Park. The bor ...

from two minor tributaries, the Oare Water and Badgworthy Water. It flows for several miles, past Brendon and makes confluence with

Hoar Oak Water Hoar Oak Water is a moorland tributary of the East Lyn River in Exmoor, Somerset, England. It rises at Hoaroak Hill in the Chains geological site and flows to Watersmeet in the East Lyn Valley in Devon Devon ( , historically known as De ...

at Watersmeet, where

Watersmeet House Watersmeet House is a National Trust property located some east of Lynmouth, in the English county of Devon. A former fishing lodge, it is today used as an information centre, tea room and shop by the National Trust. Adjoining the house is the W ...

is situated. The river then passes through a narrow

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

section, before flowing downstream for a further until the river meets with the

West Lyn River The West Lyn is a river in England which rises high in Exmoor, Somerset, and joins the East Lyn at Lynmouth in Devon. The upper reaches have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, because of the geomorphological landforms cre ...

and flows into the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

Lynmouth Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built ...

History

The Lynmouth Disaster occurred on the East Lyn river due to rocks and fallen trees having been washed into the

West Lyn The West Lyn is a river in England which rises high in Exmoor, Somerset, and joins the East Lyn at Lynmouth in Devon. The upper reaches have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, because of the geomorphological landforms c ...

river. These formed a log jam near Watersmeet, forming a

landslide dam A landslide dam or barrier lake is the natural damming of a river by some kind of landslide, such as a debris flow, rock avalanche or volcanic eruption. If the damming landslide is caused by an earthquake, it may also be called a quake lake. Some ...

. When the pressure behind the dam increased to uncontrollable levels, the water broke out of the dam, and rushed down the East Lyn (via the convergence of the rivers) into

, obliterating houses and ultimately resulting in 34 deaths. Boulders from the incident can still be seen today along the banks of the East Lyn towards Lynmouth.

Recreation

Angling

Angling interests especially in the summer are targeted towards the

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

which migrate up the river to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

. There is also trout fishing.

Walking

It is popular for walkers with the

Two Moors Way The Two Moors Way is a long-distance trail mostly in Devon, UK, first established in 1976. It links Dartmoor and Exmoor and has been extended to become a Devon Coast-to-Coast trail. History The Two Moors Way was the brainchild of Joe Turner ...

near to much of the river.

Whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayakers frequently run this river in the winter when seeking a challenging

Grade 4 Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stu ...

paddle.

References

External links

National Trust website
on the East Lyn river {{DEFAULTSORT:East Lyn, River Exmoor Rivers of Somerset Lynton and Lynmouth pl:Lyn