West Lyn River

West Lyn River
River
Glen Lyn Gorge
Country	England
County	Somerset
Source
- location	Benjamy, The Chains, Somerset, England
- elevation	400 m (1,312 ft)
- coordinates	51°10′36″N 3°38′40″W / 51.17667°N 3.64444°W
Secondary source	Barbrook
- location	near Ilkerton Ridge, Devon, England
- elevation	300 m (984 ft)
- coordinates	51°11′20″N 3°50′30″W / 51.18889°N 3.84167°W
Mouth	Lynmouth
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	51°13′46″N 3°49′44″W / 51.22944°N 3.82889°WCoordinates: 51°13′46″N 3°49′44″W / 51.22944°N 3.82889°W

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 generate hydroelectric power for the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, which is a water-balance funicular railway.

References

1. "River Lyn SSSI citation sheet" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2009-05-26.