West Lyn River

"West Lyn" redirects here. For the hamlet, see West Lyn, Devon.

West Lyn River
Glen Lyn Gorge
Location
Country	England
County	Somerset
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	The Chains, Somerset, England
• coordinates	51°10′36″N 3°38′40″W
• elevation	400 m (1,300 ft)
Mouth	Lynmouth
• location	Devon, England
• coordinates	51°13′46″N 3°49′44″W
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	River 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 created in the 1952 flood.^[1]

The lower reaches of the river towards Lynmouth, known as the Glen Lyn Gorge, is a tourist attraction including a museum about the local water cycle, the floods of 1952, and a small hydroelectric plant.

Water is piped from the river to power the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, a water-balance funicular railway.

References

1. "River Lyn SSSI citation sheet" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 26 May 2009.