Devon

Lynmouth to Ash Bridge circular walk

Watersmeet through the trees in autumn — A glimpse of Watersmeet through the trees | © David Sellman

An interesting circular walk from the historic seaside village of Lynmouth via Watersmeet House Tea Garden to Ash Bridge, along the wooded banks of the East Lyn River.

Near to

Watersmeet

Start point

Lynmouth public car park, Countisbury Hill, grid ref: SS724494

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 6.5 (km: 10.4)

Duration2 hours 15 mins to 2 hours 45 mins

Dog friendly***

*Intermediate walk over grass and gravel paths, with some gentle inclines. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Uneven paths with some steps along the route. For further details, please see section marked Access.
***Dogs on leads welcome. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

Flora and fauna

This trail is rich in wildlife and birds – you may ieven see otters if you're very lucky. In early spring, the woods near Ash Bridge are filled with bluebells.

Total stages: 13
Total stages: 13
Start point
Lynmouth public car park, Countisbury Hill, grid ref: SS724494
Stage 1
Walk out of the car park at the top left corner, heading towards the white metal bridge that crosses the river just ahead of you. Cross the bridge and turn immediately right. Continue walking upstream, with the river on your right, until you meet a road. Cross over (stay vigilant as it's a public highway) and follow the public footpath upstream towards Watersmeet.
Lynmouth Church
Before you leave the car park, look at Lynmouth Church to your right. Dating from 1870, the church houses an exhibition of photographs, donated by the National Trust, that were taken after the 1952 flood. Following a day of torrential rain on August 15, the East and West Lyn rivers thundered down to the sea, leaving in their wake devastation and death. Lives were lost in Lynmouth and other villages in the area. The tiny hamlet of Middleham was completely washed away. The church hosts a memorial flower festival each August.
Stage 2
Follow the green signpost for Watersmeet. Keep an eye out for dippers, they can be seen on the rocks in the centre of the river. Across the water you can see the Middleham Memorial Gardens.
Stage 3
Walk past the bridge spanning the river, carrying on upstream with the river on your right.
Stage 4
At the next fingerpost, the path forks. Turn right here, following the sign for 'Watersmeet Riverside Walk'. Follow the path down towards the river, cross over the bridge and turn left. You're now walking upstream with the river on your left. Stay on this path, continuing to follow signs for Watersmeet.
Stage 5
Just before you come to seven stone steps in the path, stop and look to your right where you will see a natural spring called the Lynrock Fountain. A pottery ginger beer bottle and an information panel set into the rock face nearby designate the site of the Lynrock Mineral Water Factory - destroyed in the 1952 flood. A fireplace and mantelpiece are all that remain.
Stage 6
When you come to Watersmeet (where the East Lyn River and Hoar Oak Water meet), pause a while on the first bridge to look at the waterfalls. In the holiday season, stop at our tea garden and try our famous Devon cream teas. There's also a gift shop and toilets.
Stage 7
If you're not stopping at Watersmeet House, cross the first bridge and then turn right upstream, just before the second bridge signed 'Rockford'. If you do stop at the tea garden, retrace your steps over the bridge closest to Watersmeet House and turn left upstream, keeping the East Lyn River is on your left. You will notice a mine adit in the rock face to your right, just by the bridge. This is a remnant of speculative mineral exploration by wealthy Victorian local landowners.
Stage 8
At the next fingerpost, signed 'Rockford 1.5 miles', keep to the left. Just past here is the partially restored remains of an old lime kiln on the riverbank.
Stage 9
At the next fork in the track is a three-finger signpost. Follow the footpath for Rockford to your left, down through Barton Wood towards the river.
Barton Wood
This beech wood is beautiful in autumn when copper-coloured leaves cover its floor; in spring it's carpeted with bluebells. Over the past 15 years, the National Trust has removed any larches and thinned the number of beeches, so that it looks less like the commercial woodland it was planted as in the 1950s. Over the next 30 years, more beech trees will be removed to create a glade, which will then be left to re-seed with native oaks.
Stage 10
When you reach Ash Bridge, cross over the river and turn left at the fingerpost on the other side, signed 'Watersmeet'. Walk downstream with the river on your left. Stay on the path back to Watersmeet House.
Stage 11
When you reach Watersmeet House, stop for tea and cake if the House is open. Follow the gravel track from the house towards Lynmouth, keeping the river on your left. Just past the house you'll pass an information board about Glenthorne Fisheries, showing the permitted fishing pools and contact information.
Stage 12
Carry on past the stone bridge that you passed earlier on the opposite bank. Follow the footpath straight ahead signed 'Woodland Walk Lynmouth'.
Stage 13
Stay on this footpath all the way back to Lynmouth. Where the path opens out, just before the small car park to your right, cross over the wooden bridge and walk back to the car park with the river on your right, past the Middleham Memorial Gardens located on the hillside to your left.
End point
Lynmouth public car park, Countisbury Hill, grid ref: SS724494
Trail map
Lynmouth to Ash Bridge circular walk, Watersmeet, Devon | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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