Lynmouth
Lynmouth is a shingle beach surrounded by spectacular high cliffs, hills and woodlands.
In general, the beach and surrounding area is popular with walkers, and the views from the cliffs above the beach are spectacular. Watch out for deer as well as dolphins breaking the surf.
The Lynton Cliff Railway takes visitors up the side of a cliff into the town of Lynton and is well worth doing just for the unique experience. In the town there are many shops, pubs and restaurants.
Overflow locations
The map below shows the locations of the storm overflows that have the potential to impact water quality at this bathing water.
The map shows whether or not a storm overflow is currently active, the time and duration of the last spill at that location, and our investment commitments that are specific to that overflow.
Lynmouth storm overflow map
Water quality sample results
The graphs below show the significant reduction in harmful bacteria in the Environment Agency’s (EA) water samples since the 1990s. E. coli and Intestinal Enterococci exist in all open water - they are found in human and animal poo, and get into the water via sewage spills, road drainage, agricultural livestock, or wildlife and birds. The EA uses the levels of these bacteria to decide whether to award this beach bathing water status.
2025-2030 investment programme
To help reduce the risk of environmental impact from our sewerage network, and to contribute towards improving bathing water quality at Lynmouth Beach, we have earmarked circa £4,250,000 of investment up to March 2025*.
We are working to enhance the treatment processes at Lynmouth sewage treatment works to provide greater resilience.
The 2025-2030 investment programme is currently being scoped out. If you’re a community group or part of a local network and would like to have your say see ‘Your Beach, Your Say, Our Investment’.
*Amounts earmarked for investment may change dependent on the final design of the optimal solution and costings provided by our supply chain.
4 year overflow spill information
The data shown in the table below is the reported annual total spill number for each overflow which has been identified by the EA for this bathing water.
The assignment of an overflow to the bathing water does not always mean an impact will occur, it can be dependent on a number of factors such as tidal state and weather conditions. Sometimes it has been allocated just for investigation purposes and has no impact at all.
All data collected goes through vigorous quality assurance processes before being included in the counts. Sometimes debris can trigger false spills to be recorded, resulting in potentially higher than actual spill numbers.
Number of spills
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basket Shop pumping station overflow, Lynmouth | 56 | 35 | 42 | 54 |
| Bottom Meadow storm overflow, Lynton | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Lynmouth sewage treatment works settled storm overflow | 0 | 18 | 5 | 17 |
| Market Place storm overflow, Lynton | 28 | 18 | 35 | 51 |
| Rock House pumping station overflow, Lynmouth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
More about what we're doing
The beach profiles were created in line with information provided by our partners, Environment Agency, RNLI, Keep Britain Tidy, MCS - Beach Guide and British Beaches.