Valley of the Rocks
Encyclopedia
The Valley of the Rocks or The Valley of Rocks is a dry valley
that runs parallel to the coast in north Devon
, England, about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) to the west of the village of Lynton
. It is a popular tourist destination, noted for its herd of feral
goats, and for its geology, having good exposures of the Lynton Beds that are among the oldest Devonian
rocks in north Devon and are highly fossiliferous. Also of note are the periglacial
features formed when this area was at the limit of glaciation during the last Ice Age. The valley is believed to owe its existence to the dissection by coastal cliff recession
of a former extension of the valley of the East Lyn River
which now meets the sea at Lynmouth
.
and William Wordsworth
visited the valley together and decided to write a prose tale called "The Wanderings of Cain" set there, though it was never completed. The poet Robert Southey
was a visitor in August 1799, and was impressed, describing it as "covered with huge stones … the very bones and skeletons of the earth; rock reeling upon rock, stone piled upon stone, a huge terrific mass". Later, R. D. Blackmore
set part of his novel Lorna Doone
(first published in 1869) in the valley.
Dry valley
A dry valley is a valley found in either karst or chalk terrain that no longer has a surface flow of water.There are many examples of the latter along the North and South Downs in southern England...
that runs parallel to the coast in north 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, about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) to the west of the village of 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...
. It is a popular tourist destination, noted for its herd of feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
goats, and for its geology, having good exposures of the Lynton Beds that are among the oldest Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
rocks in north Devon and are highly fossiliferous. Also of note are the periglacial
Periglacial
Periglacial is an adjective originally referring to places in the edges of glacial areas, but it has later been widely used in geomorphology to describe any place where geomorphic processes related to freezing of water occur...
features formed when this area was at the limit of glaciation during the last Ice Age. The valley is believed to owe its existence to the dissection by coastal cliff recession
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
of a former extension of the valley of the East Lyn River
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...
which now meets the sea at Lynmouth
Lynmouth
Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the north edge of Exmoor.The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge below Lynton, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway....
.
Literary connections
In late 1797, 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...
and William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
visited the valley together and decided to write a prose tale called "The Wanderings of Cain" set there, though it was never completed. The poet Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
was a visitor in August 1799, and was impressed, describing it as "covered with huge stones … the very bones and skeletons of the earth; rock reeling upon rock, stone piled upon stone, a huge terrific mass". Later, R. D. Blackmore
R. D. Blackmore
Richard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world...
set part of his novel Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....
(first published in 1869) in the valley.