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. Exmoor is more precisely defined as the area of the former ancient royal hunting forest, also called Exmoor, which was officially surveyed 1815–1818 as 18,810 acres (7,610 ha) in extent. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and 55 km (34 mi) of the Bristol Channel coast. The total area of the Exmoor National Park is 692.8 km2 (267.5 sq mi), of which 71% is in Somerset and 29% in Devon.
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 700 feet (210 m) below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built-up as possible. The villages are connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, which works two cable-connected cars by gravity, using water tanks.
Somerset is a rural county in the southwest of England, covering 4,171 square kilometres (1,610 sq mi). It is bounded on the north-west by the Bristol Channel, on the north by Bristol and Gloucestershire, on the north-east by Wiltshire, on the south-east by Dorset, and on the south west and west by Devon. It has broad central plains with several ranges of low hills. The landscape divides into four main geological sections from the Silurian through the Devonian and Carboniferous to the Permian which influence the landscape, together with water-related features.
Watersmeet House is a National Trust property located some 1.8 miles (2.9 km) 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 Watersmeet SSSI, a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Brendon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brendon and Countisbury, in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is close to the border with Somerset within the Exmoor National Park, the village is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Lynton and 15 miles (24 km) west of Minehead in the East Lyn Valley. It is located just off the A39 and is on two long distance footpaths, the Coleridge Way and the Samaritans Way South West. The Church of St Brendon is 2 mi (3 km) from the village and was built in 1738, possibly with building material brought from another site. In 2001 the parish had a population of 159.
Hoar Oak Water is a moorland tributary of the East Lyn River in Exmoor, Somerset, England.
The West Lyn is a river in England which rises high in Exmoor, Somerset, and joins the East Lyn at Lynmouth in Devon.
The River Horner, also known as Horner Water, rises near Luccombe on Exmoor, Somerset, and flows past Porlock into Porlock Bay near Hurlstone Point on the Bristol Channel. The river flows into the sea though a shingle ridge at Bossington beach, where it forms part of the Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Site of Special Scientific Interest. When the river level is very high, flood water builds up behind the ridge, causing it to breach.
Simonsbath is a small village high on Exmoor in the English county of Somerset. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated civil parish on Exmoor, covering nearly 32 square miles (83 km2) but with a population, at the time of the 2001 census, of 203 in 78 households, reducing to 156 at the 2011 census. The River Exe rises from a valley to the north, and the River Barle runs through the village and is crossed by a triple-arched medieval bridge that was extensively repaired after floods in 1952.
The Coleridge Way is a 51-mile (82 km) long-distance trail in Somerset and Devon, England.
Oare Water passes through the village of Oare, on Exmoor in Somerset, England.
Badgworthy Water is a small river which flows through Malmsmead on Exmoor, close to the border between Devon and Somerset, England.
The county of Somerset is in South West England, bordered by the Bristol Channel and the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, and Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south, and Devon to the west. The climate, influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the prevailing westerly winds, tends to be mild, damp and windy.
The Lynmouth Flood occurred on the night of the 15–16 August 1952, principally affecting the village of Lynmouth, in north Devon. A storm with heavy rainfall, combined with already saturated soil and flood debris, led to the flooding of the village and a total loss of 34 lives.
East Lyn Valley is a valley of Exmoor, covering northern Devon and western Somerset, England.
Malmsmead is a hamlet on the border between the English counties of Devon and Somerset. The nearest town is Lynton, which lies approximately 4.7 miles (7.6 km) west of the hamlet. The hamlet is situated in the Doone Valley within the Exmoor National Park.
Samaritans Way South West is a 103 miles (166 km) Long-distance footpath in South West England. It was officially opened on 21 April 2004 by the Ramblers Vice Chairman, the Samaritans (charity) Chief Executive and a farmer from Gloucestershire who headed the Farmers Helpline. In the same year it appeared on the Ordnance Survey maps supported and encouraged by Local Authorities, National Parks and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by giving their consent; however Somerset County Council later asked the Ordnance Survey to remove the route from their maps. A way marked walk linking the Cotswolds, the Mendips, the Polden Hills, the Quantocks, the Brendons, Exmoor National Park and the North Devon Coast.
Lynton and Lynmouth is a civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is named after its two main settlements of Lynton, which stands on a plateau above the Glen Lyn Gorge, and Lynmouth which lies at the foot of the gorge where the West Lyn River and East Lyn River converge and then meet the sea. The two are connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, a water-powered funicular railway.
The geology of Exmoor National Park in south-west England contributes significantly to the character of Exmoor, a landscape which was designated as a national park in 1954. The bedrock of the area consists almost wholly of a suite of sedimentary rocks deposited during the Devonian, a period named for the English county of Devon in which the western half of the park sits. The eastern part lies within Somerset and it is within this part of the park that limited outcrops of Triassic and Jurassic age rocks are to be found.
