The Valley of the Rocks is a stunning, and unique, ridged cliff in a dry valley looking over the Bristol channel. The valley sits within the Exmoor National Park, Devon, just outside of the quaint town of Lynton and the harbour of Lynmouth, an area affectionately known as 'England's little Switzerland'. We parked for free in a layby (approx EX35 6ND), up the steep Countisbury hill road that leads into Lynmouth, there is also lots of paid parking in Lynmouth itself.
We walked down into the harbour via the South-West Coast Path, from here we could see the spectacular Lynton and Lynmouth Railway, the World's steepest, fully water powered funicular railway and the only fully water powered railway in Britian. It is typically Victorian, ingenious and elegant. Ceri was so looking forward to hitching a ride, however, I was route master and had decided we were all hiking up to the Valley of the Rocks and taking the train back down, he was sad.
We toured around Lynmouth crossing over the East Lyn River and took a moment at the 2002 memorial cross that marked the 50th anniversary of the flooding disaster that took the lives of 34 people and destroyed many of the buildings in Lynmouth, which have now been rebuilt.
We made our way uphill via the roadway, crossing over the railway bridge and heading back onto the South West Coast Path. We were greeted by feral goats, which have been a fixture of this landscape for hundreds of years. The path is in excellent condition, and provides amazing views of South Wales. Soon we were met with a fork in the path, you can either go up to the ridge and walk along the top of the rocky cliff or keep to the Coast Path. We decided to take the high path. We popped out straight onto the epic ridged cliffs that link the valley together, utterly strange but beautiful in appearance and so much fun to walk along. The drops are pretty daunting so beware it isn't for everyone but it's not overtly dangerous. Also, there is a paid carpark inside the valley itself, so it can be experienced by people of all abilities.
After a million photos and many cups of tea in our new mugs that were sent to us after winning a competition by RU-vid channel Vagabond Turtle, we headed back off along the Coast Path.
We made our way up and through the town of Lynton to the railway station. At the time of writing, it is three pounds thirty per adult for a ticket to ride, they take card. The cars work via a balance system using water piped in from the West Lyn River and double-cabled pulleys. It does not require any electrical power to operate and has a unique braking arrangement that utilises water instead of oil as hydraulic fluid, incredible. Once we got back down into Lynmouth we took a walk along the harbour wall and back to the East Lyn River. We followed the river into the woodland where we turned uphill along the 'Sparrows Path', which is steep and winding but enveloping in the best way. We headed towards a viewing point, once again looking out over the channel. From here we were forced to drop down to the road but were quickly back on the Coast Path heading towards the cars. All that amazing beauty in just 8 miles, a perfect day out.
Thanks to Dave for joining us, always a true pleasure. And thank you again to @VagabondTurtle for our prize gift, we honestly love the mugs!
Thank you for being here, all the best, Ceri & Kat!
/ teainvalhalla
/ teainvalhalla
6 окт 2024
