The River Yeo is a tributary of the River Taw

River Taw

The River Taw rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor. It reaches the Bristol Channel away on the north coast of Devon at a joint estuary mouth which it shares with the River Torridge.-Watercourse:...

 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, sometimes known as the Lapford Yeo from the village of Lapford

Lapford

Lapford is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 993.-Pubs:There is one pub in the village...

. It is one of several rivers of the same name in Devon, including another tributary of the Taw, the Barnstaple Yeo

River Yeo (Barnstaple)

The River Yeo is a tributary of the River Taw in Devon, England, sometimes known as the Barnstaple Yeo, which enters the Taw at Barnstaple. It is one of several rivers of the same name in Devon, including another tributary of the Taw, the Lapford Yeo....

. The Lapford Yeo flows within 2 miles of the headwaters of another River Yeo, which is a tributary of the River Creedy

River Creedy

The River Creedy is a small river in Devon, England. It gives its name to the local town or ton of Crediton, which is on its west bank. Just below the town, the river merges with the River Yeo and it ends where it meets the River Exe at Cowley Bridge....

.

The Lapford Yeo rises near South Tawton

South Tawton

South Tawton, a village on the North edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England is an ancient demesne , going back at least to the time of the Saxons, if not to the Romans, who named the river Taw, the Tavus.-History:...

. It flows north through Bow

Bow, Devon

Bow is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England, about 8 miles west of Crediton. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,093. There is an adjoining hamlet of Nymet Tracey which shares a church with Bow and much common history.-History:There is a 3rd...

 and Zeal Monachorum

Zeal Monachorum

Zeal Monachorum is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England, about north-west of Exeter, situated on the River Yeo...

 to Lapford. It joins the Taw 1.5 miles below Lapford,just below Nymet Bridge. Its largest tributary is the River Dalch, which joins the Yeo near Lapford. The river's catchment area is almost twice the size of the Taw's catchment area above the confluence, but has significantly lower rainfall than the upper Taw valley.

The river was earlier called the Nymet, thought to be a Celtic word meaning 'shrine'. Several Nymet place-names remain in the area, including Nymet Tracey and Nymet Rowland

Nymet Rowland

Nymet Rowland is a small village, and parish of the same name, in central Devon, England, north of Dartmoor. It takes part of its name from "Nymet", the old name for the nearby River Yeo. It is located just to the west of Lapford and south of Nymet Bridge, within the Mid Devon local authority area....

, and it seems that the area may have been sacred in Celtic times.