Look up at the rugged steep-sided hills and they tell you of ancient times when these places were remote and the folk who lived here were fierce and unwelcoming. Hill forts guard the villages from above where the East and West Lyn rivers rush into the sea. 

The windblown heaths and deep coombes are romantic places where battles were fought, outlaws lived and hardy Devon farmers grappled with nature. Thatched cottages march down the hill to Lynmouth where fishermen and smugglers garnered a dangerous harvest from the sea.