Lynmouth is a village in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England, on the north edge of Exmoor

Exmoor

Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...

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The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn

West Lyn River

The West Lyn is a river 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....

 and East Lyn

East Lyn River

The East Lyn is a river which rises high in Exmoor, Somerset. It flows through the East Lyn Valley.-Watercourse:The river starts as the Upper East Lyn at Malmsmead it then flows for several miles, past Brendon and makes confluence with Hoar Oak Water at Watersmeet, where Watersmeet House is...

 rivers, in a gorge 700 feet (213.4 m) below Lynton

Lynton

Lynton is a small town in Devon, England. It lies on the northern edge of Exmoor and is located at the top of a gorge above Lynmouth, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway...

, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway

Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway

The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway is a water-powered funicular railway joining the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth on the rugged coast of North Devon.-Origins:...

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The two villages are a civil parish governed by Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council. The parish boundaries extend southwards from the coast and includes hamlets such as Barbrook

Barbrook

Barbrook is a village in Devon, England.It is close to the source of the West Lyn River.The only shop including the village post office closed on 27th September 2008....

 and small moorland settlements such as East Ilkerton, West Ilkerton and Shallowford.

Lynmouth was described by Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...

, who honeymooned there with his bride Margaret Burr, as "the most delightful place for a landscape painter this country can boast".
A lifeboat station was established in Lynmouth on 20 January 1869, five months after the nearby wreck of the sailing vessel Home.