River Otter
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the animal Otter
or the River Ottery in Cornwall
The River Otter rises in the Blackdown Hills
just inside the county of Somerset
, near Otterford
, then flows south for some 32 km through East Devon
to the English Channel
at the western end of Lyme Bay
, part of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Permian and Triassic sandstone aquifer in the Otter Valley is one of Devon's largest groundwater sources, supplying drinking water to 200,000 people.
, where a stream feeds the Otterhead Lakes
: and then through Churchstanton
before entering Devon
.
The river flows through a predominantly rural area, with small cattle, sheep and dairy farms. The largest town in the Otter Valley is Honiton
. Tourism and leisure play important roles in the economy; hundreds of private cottages and farms offer B&B and rented holiday accommodation.
The river passes through or by Upottery, Rawridge, Monkton, Honiton
(then below the A30 trunk road), Alfington, Ottery St Mary
, Tipton St John, Newton Poppleford
, Otterton
and reaches the coast to the east of Budleigh Salterton
, after flowing through the 57 acres (230,671 m²) Otter Estuary Nature Reserve - a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) - consisting of tidal mudflats and saltmarsh. There is no public access to the estuary itself but footpaths lead alongside with two viewing platforms on the west and a hide on the east. The wintering population of wildfowl and waders includes redshank, greenshank, dunlin, common sandpiper, ringed plover, grey plover, curlew, snipe, water rail, wigeon, teal, shelduck, brent goose, red-breasted merganser and little grebe. Reed warbler, reed bunting and sedge warbler breed on the reserve.
The point at which the river reaches the coast is part of the Jurassic Coast
, a World Heritage Site
.
A small tributary is the River Tale, with the confluence NW of Ottery St Mary
. This small town (associated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
, Sir Walter Raleigh
, and an annual tar barrel rolling event) is the site of an unusual circular weir, known as the Tumbling Weir
.
At one time there were as many as fifty watermill
powered by the River Otter. One remaining working mill, thought to date from the 17th century, is Tracey Mill near Honiton. In the 1970s, fish ponds were dug around the mill, fed by the leat; over a million gallons of fresh water flow though these ponds every day, helping the commercial production of trout 'without the need for antibiotics or added oxygen'.
One mill, at Dotton, is known to have operated from around 1100 to 1960, after which the building was demolished. The site was excavated by Channel 4's Time Team
, the programme The Domesday Mill being broadcast in 2007. This mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book
. A weir diverted water to the mill's leat, supplying the vertical breast-shot wheel. Dotton (now little more than a farm) is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the mouth of the Otter, and about one mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Colaton Raleigh.
At the picturesque village of Otterton
(once a seaport on a larger Otter Estuary) there is a working watermill in this case over 1,000 years old; it was one of the three largest mills in Devon as recorded in the Domesday Book
of 1086. It is powered by water diverted through a leat. Immediately north of the leat, a fish pass (aka ladder/staircase) has been constructed beside a river-wide weir, restoring migratory fish runs to the river after a break of over 100 years.
(1772-1834), who was born in Ottery St Mary
, wrote this poem entitled Sonnet to the River Otter.
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
or the River Ottery in Cornwall
River Ottery
The River Ottery is a small river in northeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. The river is approximately twenty miles long from its source southeast of Otterham to its confluence with the River Tamar at Nether Bridge, two miles northeast of Launceston.The headwaters of the River Ottery are within the...
The River Otter rises in the Blackdown Hills
Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991....
just inside the county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, near Otterford
Otterford
Otterford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Blackdown Hills, south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...
, then flows south for some 32 km through East Devon
East Devon
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Sidmouth, and the largest town is Exmouth.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Honiton with the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth...
to the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
at the western end of Lyme Bay
Lyme Bay
Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel situated in the southwest of England between Torbay in the west and Portland in the east. The counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay,-Geology:...
, part of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
The Permian and Triassic sandstone aquifer in the Otter Valley is one of Devon's largest groundwater sources, supplying drinking water to 200,000 people.
Topography
The river's source is north of OtterfordOtterford
Otterford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Blackdown Hills, south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district...
, where a stream feeds the Otterhead Lakes
Otterhead Lakes
Otterhead Lakes are a pair of reservoirs in the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty south of Otterford in Somerset, England. They are fed by the River Otter and managed by the Otterhead Estate Trust Company Limited, working with the Somerset Wildlife Trust on behalf of Wessex Water...
: and then through Churchstanton
Churchstanton
Churchstanton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the River Otter south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district.The parish has a population of 760...
before entering 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...
.
The river flows through a predominantly rural area, with small cattle, sheep and dairy farms. The largest town in the Otter Valley is Honiton
Honiton
Honiton is a town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. The town's name is pronounced in two ways, and , each pronunciation having its adherents...
. Tourism and leisure play important roles in the economy; hundreds of private cottages and farms offer B&B and rented holiday accommodation.
Honiton
Honiton is a town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. The town's name is pronounced in two ways, and , each pronunciation having its adherents...
(then below the A30 trunk road), Alfington, Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery" , is a town in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about ten miles east of Exeter on the B3174. It is part of a large civil parish of the same name, which also covers the villages of West Hill, Metcombe, Fairmile, Alfington, Tipton St...
, Tipton St John, Newton Poppleford
Newton Poppleford
Newton Poppleford is a large village situated on the A3052 road between Exeter and Sidmouth on the west side of the River Otter in East Devon, within the East Devon AONB.The village is on the route of a Roman road from Axmouth to Exeter...
, Otterton
Otterton
Otterton is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England.-The village:The village is located on the east bank of the River Otter, east of the B3178 road and the village of East Budleigh. It is about a mile inland of Ladram Bay, on the Jurassic Coast...
and reaches the coast to the east of Budleigh Salterton
Budleigh Salterton
Budleigh Salterton is a small town on the south coast of Devon, England 15 miles south of Exeter. It is situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated East Devon AONB.- Features :...
, after flowing through the 57 acres (230,671 m²) Otter Estuary Nature Reserve - a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI) - consisting of tidal mudflats and saltmarsh. There is no public access to the estuary itself but footpaths lead alongside with two viewing platforms on the west and a hide on the east. The wintering population of wildfowl and waders includes redshank, greenshank, dunlin, common sandpiper, ringed plover, grey plover, curlew, snipe, water rail, wigeon, teal, shelduck, brent goose, red-breasted merganser and little grebe. Reed warbler, reed bunting and sedge warbler breed on the reserve.
The point at which the river reaches the coast is part of the Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
, a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
A small tributary is the River Tale, with the confluence NW of Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery" , is a town in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about ten miles east of Exeter on the B3174. It is part of a large civil parish of the same name, which also covers the villages of West Hill, Metcombe, Fairmile, Alfington, Tipton St...
. This small town (associated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, and an annual tar barrel rolling event) is the site of an unusual circular weir, known as the Tumbling Weir
Tumbling Weir
The Tumbling Weir is a circular weir in the town of Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England that allows water from a leat or man-made stream to reach the River Otter....
.
At one time there were as many as fifty watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
powered by the River Otter. One remaining working mill, thought to date from the 17th century, is Tracey Mill near Honiton. In the 1970s, fish ponds were dug around the mill, fed by the leat; over a million gallons of fresh water flow though these ponds every day, helping the commercial production of trout 'without the need for antibiotics or added oxygen'.
One mill, at Dotton, is known to have operated from around 1100 to 1960, after which the building was demolished. The site was excavated by Channel 4's Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
, the programme The Domesday Mill being broadcast in 2007. This mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. A weir diverted water to the mill's leat, supplying the vertical breast-shot wheel. Dotton (now little more than a farm) is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the mouth of the Otter, and about one mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Colaton Raleigh.
Otterton
Otterton is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England.-The village:The village is located on the east bank of the River Otter, east of the B3178 road and the village of East Budleigh. It is about a mile inland of Ladram Bay, on the Jurassic Coast...
(once a seaport on a larger Otter Estuary) there is a working watermill in this case over 1,000 years old; it was one of the three largest mills in Devon as recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. It is powered by water diverted through a leat. Immediately north of the leat, a fish pass (aka ladder/staircase) has been constructed beside a river-wide weir, restoring migratory fish runs to the river after a break of over 100 years.
Coleridge
The poet Samuel Taylor ColeridgeSamuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
(1772-1834), who was born in Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary
Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery" , is a town in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about ten miles east of Exeter on the B3174. It is part of a large civil parish of the same name, which also covers the villages of West Hill, Metcombe, Fairmile, Alfington, Tipton St...
, wrote this poem entitled Sonnet to the River Otter.
- Dear native brook! wild streamlet to the West!
- How many various-fated years have past,
- What happy, and what mournful hours since last
- I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast,
- Numbering its light leaps! yet so deep imprest
- Sink the sweet scenes of childhood, that mine eyes
- I never shut amid the sunny ray,
- But straight with all their tints thy waters rise,
- Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey,
- And bedded sand that, veined with various dyes,
- Gleamed through thy bright transparence! On my way,
- Visions of childhood! oft have ye beguiled
- Lone manhood's cares, yet waking fondest sighs:
- Ah! that once more I were a careless child!