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The River East Lyn is one of two channels which run from northern Exmoor into the Bristol Channel at Lynmouth. The river does not have a very high flow except during exceptional flood (as in the world famous disaster of 1952), but what it lacks in volume it more than makes up for in technical difficulty and gradient. The short (2½ mile) stretch of canoeable river from Watersmeet to the sea drops at a rate of over 60 metres per mile, whilst passing between or over some impressive boulders and natural drops. It is not a river for the faint-hearted with many opportunities for serious problems through pinning, stoppers and frequent tree obstacles. In many places inspection is to be recommended, but do please be aware of the extreme ecological sensitivity of this valley; too many canoeists trampling on the banks is likely to damage the good relationship between the local riparian owners and the access team so please be careful to stick to the very obvious footpath when ever possible. We have been asked to point out that the shallow gravel beds which may well co-incide with access/egress points, are possible spawning beds, so please try not to wade in the water at these points.
The river is an important game fishing water, and the valley is ecologically extremely sensitive. Canoeing is possible only in the closed fishing season, November to February, and then only in accordance with an agreement with the riparian owners. This permits canoeing on an extremely restricted scale (usually one descent per group per day with a maximum of three groups) by B.C.U. Members (also W.C.A., S.C.A. and C.A.N.I. Members) in possession of a letter of permission from the B.C.U. Local Access Officer.
It is very likely that you will be asked to produce your letter of authority by either Mr Christelow the river warden, or a National Trust official, or Mr Peder whose house overlooks the river at Myrtleberry Cleave. Please be courteous to these people who have been responsible for the establishment of this access agreement.
Access at Watersmeet (SS744486) is below the footbridges, having walked down a steep path from the parking area on the A39. About fifty yards downstream is a drop of about 4 feet where a cross-current pushes most of the water (and canoes!) into a rock face on the right. The river carries on fairly innocently under a large arched bridge and turns to the left where a small drop should not cause too many problems. 300 yards further is Mr Peder's house on the left (742490) [no access on his land, please], and 200 yards after that is a 3 feet drop best shot on the right followed by a fast, narrow stretch. Beware a nasty tree stump on the right at the bottom of this section.
A small gravelly 'beach' on the left below this section provides a good landing point to enable you to inspect the very technical section from here to the next bridge, but note the comments above about spawning beds. Pay special attention to the 4 foot vertical drop about 100 yds upstream of the bridge; at low flows this is best shot on the extreme left, but at high water a central or right route is probably less hazardous. Once at the bridge the river has no major natural obstacles for a few hundred yards (although at the time of writing there was a large tree almost completely blocking the river) but when you arrive at the next footbridge, (Blackpool Bridge) you are at the start of the very serious gorge section. Inspection is difficult but highly recommended.
The first drop here is a narrow slot which goes from right to left between rocks, closely followed by a 3 foot shoot. Within 50 yds the current goes to the left bank before a 7 foot vertical drop with a very shallow pool at its base. Several other lesser drops occupy the next 100 yds which is characterised by huge boulders, then the water flows in a narrow channel to the left before cascading over a 6 foot vertical drop into a severe stopper. This marks the end of the serious section, but the final stretch still has plenty of interest. The remaining mile to Lynmouth and the egress point at a riverside car park is a rock dodge at low water, but has continuous turbulent water and holding stoppers at higher flows with numerous route choices. Here you can afford to relax a little and enjoy the water. The car park is immediately before the road bridge (724495) but do have a look at the surf before getting changed; this beach has some of the best waves in the South West so it would be a pity not to take advantage of it!