About
The Lyn and Exmoor Museum in Lynton occupies a charmingly converted Victorian cottage and stands as the gateway to understanding one of England's most dramatic and historically layered landscapes. Perched on the cliffs above the twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth at the edge of Exmoor National Park, the museum tells the intertwined stories of human settlement, natural history, and community life in this remote corner of North Devon across thousands of years. Few local museums in England occupy so magnificent a setting, and the view from the doorstep — across the Bristol Channel to the South Wales coast — provides context for the stories told within.
The museum was founded by local enthusiasts determined to preserve the heritage of a community that had experienced one of England's most devastating natural disasters: the Lynmouth flood of August 1952, when a catastrophic storm on Exmoor sent a torrent of water, boulders, and debris crashing through the village, killing 34 people and destroying much of the settlement. This tragedy is documented with great sensitivity in the museum, which holds photographs, oral history recordings, and artefacts that bear witness to the disaster and the remarkable recovery that followed. The flood story gives the museum an emotional core that resonates with all visitors.
Beyond the flood, the museum addresses the landscape and ecology of Exmoor — the wild ponies, red deer, ancient oak woodlands, and the remarkable coastal scenery — alongside the human story of farming, fishing, smuggling, and the nineteenth-century tourist boom that transformed Lynton and Lynmouth from obscure fishing villages into the 'Little Switzerland' of England, attracting Romantic poets including Shelley, Coleridge, and Wordsworth. The famous Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, opened in 1890 and still operating today, is another highlight of the museum's collections.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Combine the museum with a return trip on the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway — the water-powered funicular is a unique Victorian engineering experience.
- The Valley of Rocks is a mile west of Lynton and free to visit — feral goats roam among dramatic rock formations above the Bristol Channel.
- The riverside walk from Lynmouth to Watersmeet (National Trust tea room) is one of Devon's finest woodland walks — about 1.5 miles each way.
- Allow time to explore both Lynton (at the top of the cliff) and Lynmouth (at sea level) — they feel like very different places despite being so close.
- Parking is limited in both villages — arrive early in peak season or use the long-stay car park at Lynton and walk down via the cliff railway.
- The museum is closed in winter — check dates before planning a visit outside the main tourist season.
- The flood display is moving and sobering — parents should be aware of the content if visiting with young children.
- Exmoor ponies can often be seen on the moorland above the villages — ask museum staff for the best spots to find them.
Highlights
The Lynmouth Flood of 1952
On the night of 15–16 August 1952, a catastrophic rainstorm over Exmoor caused nine rivers and streams to overflow simultaneously, sending a wall of water, boulders, and uprooted trees crashing through the narrow valley and into Lynmouth. In a matter of hours, 34 people were killed, 420 were made homeless, and much of the village was destroyed.
The museum holds a remarkable collection of photographs, documents, and personal testimonies that document both the horror of the disaster and the extraordinary community spirit that brought about Lynmouth's eventual recovery.
This is the most moving and most-visited section of the museum.
The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway
One of England's most remarkable Victorian engineering achievements, the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway was opened in 1890 to solve the problem of the 500-foot (152 m) cliff face separating the two villages. The water-powered funicular — which uses the weight of water in a tank beneath one car to raise the other, with no electricity required — remains in operation today and is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The museum explores the railway's history, its pioneering engineering, and its central role in the development of Lynton and Lynmouth as a tourist destination in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
Exmoor Natural History
Exmoor National Park is one of England's most biodiverse landscapes, supporting populations of red deer, Exmoor ponies (one of Britain's oldest native breeds), otters, and an exceptional range of bird species. The museum's natural history displays introduce visitors to the ecology of the moor and its coastal margins, with specimens, illustrations, and interpretive material covering the geology, flora, and fauna of the national park.
Particular attention is given to the ancient oak woodland of the Lyn valleys — a remnant Atlantic rainforest habitat of international significance.
The Romantic Poets and Lynton
In the 1790s and early 1800s, the twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth attracted a remarkable succession of Romantic poets who found in the dramatic scenery of the Lyn Gorge and the Bristol Channel coast the sublime landscape their aesthetic demanded. Percy Bysshe Shelley spent his honeymoon here in 1812.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge walked over Exmoor from Nether Stowey in Somerset, and his experiences in this landscape are believed to have influenced the composition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Robert Southey and William Wordsworth also visited. The museum explores these literary connections with reproduced letters, portraits, and contextual material.
Collections
The Lyn and Exmoor Museum holds a wide-ranging collection reflecting the natural and human history of the Exmoor National Park and its coastal margins. The flood collection — photographs, personal testimony, and documentary material relating to the catastrophic Lynmouth flood of 1952 — is the emotional core of the museum and is of national significance.
Natural history holdings cover the distinctive flora and fauna of Exmoor, with particular emphasis on the landscape's internationally important habitats.
Local history material ranges from prehistoric archaeological finds to Victorian tourist memorabilia and twentieth-century domestic life. Literary connections with the Romantic poets are documented through reproduced manuscripts, portraits, and contextual material. The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway is represented by engineering drawings, photographs, and operational records.
All collections are maintained by a dedicated volunteer team with deep expertise in the locality.
The Great Flood: Lynmouth 1952
Comprehensive display documenting the catastrophic flood of August 1952, its causes, impact, and the community's recovery.
Exmoor: Landscape and Wildlife
Natural history gallery covering the ecology, geology, and distinctive flora and fauna of Exmoor National Park.
Lynton and Lynmouth: History and Heritage
Local history display from prehistoric settlement through smuggling, farming, and the Victorian tourist boom.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.