Deep combes, river crossings
Brendon
A linear East Lyn valley settlement with old stone bridges, long moorland walks and a riverside inn.
- Best for
- Wooded-combe walks and river history
- Give it
- A full day for one of the longer circuits
- Don't miss
- The humped, cobbled packhorse bridge at Leeford
The Fox verdict
A quiet base for the East Lyn valley
Brendon brings together wooded-combe walking, historic river crossings, riding and a traditional inn beside the East Lyn.
Come for the Countisbury and Brendon circuit or the harder Doone Valley walk, then slow the pace at Leeford's neighbouring listed bridges, the isolated Church of St Brendan or the Staghunters' riverside garden.
Where to go
Places in Brendon
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesBrendon Manor Stables
Guided Exmoor treks, including lead-rein and one-to-one rides, for a range of ages and abilities.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 1 hour 30 minutes
- Locality
- off the B3223
Countisbury and Brendon Walk
An Exmoor Classic following the Coleridge Way beside the East Lyn towards Lynmouth and returning to County Gate through coastal woodland on the South West Coast Path.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow 4 hours
- Locality
- beside the East Lyn towards Lynmouth, returning to County Gate
Watersmeet
A 2,000-acre National Trust estate of ancient oak woods and river paths where the East Lyn meets Hoar Oak Water.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 2 hours
- Locality
- where the East Lyn meets Hoar Oak Water
Food & drink
2 placesThe Staghunters Inn
A family-owned traditional country inn with rooms, a restaurant, a separate bar, a real fire and a garden on the bank of the East Lyn.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 1 hour 15 minutes
- Locality
- on the bank of the East Lyn River
The Buttery
A tearoom by Badgworthy Water beside Malmsmead bridge and a refreshment stop on the Doone Valley walk.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 45 minutes
- Locality
- at Malmsmead, by Badgworthy Water beside the bridge
Walks & outdoors
1 placeDoone Valley Country Walk
A hard circuit through Southern Wood and over Malmsmead Hill, following Badgworthy Water past Lorna's Cott, a deserted medieval settlement, Blackmore's memorial and Oare Church.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 4 hours
- Locality
- from County Gate, or from Malmsmead
History & heritage
4 placesChurch of St Brendan
A Grade II church whose nave, chancel and south porch date from 1738, with a 12th-century scalloped stone font and work by Brendon craftsmen.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 40 minutes
- Locality
- isolated, high to the west of the village
Leeford Bridge
A probably 18th-century road bridge whose northern approach was eased and parapet raised in the 19th century.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 15 minutes
- Locality
- at Leeford, crossing the East Lyn
Leeford Packhorse Bridge
A humped, cobbled bridge, probably from the 17th or 18th century, which formerly linked Brendon Mill to the north bank.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 15 minutes
- Locality
- at Leeford, crossing the East Lyn
Malmsmead Bridge
A scheduled, Grade II 17th-century bridge with two semicircular arches, crossing Badgworthy Water and the county boundary beside a ford.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 15 minutes
- Locality
- at Malmsmead, beside a ford
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Three ways to explore Brendon
Signature outings
The Staghunters Inn
Settle beside the East Lyn at a traditional family-run inn with a separate bar, restaurant, real fire and riverside garden.
St Brendan's craft and history
Find a 12th-century scalloped font and woodwork made by Brendon craftsmen inside the isolated church high west of the village.
Leeford's packhorse bridge
Pause at the humped, cobbled packhorse bridge that once linked Brendon Mill with the river's north bank.
The village story
Brendon Village Guide
Inn traditions, old river crossings and long walks through the East Lyn landscape.
The riverside inn and Brendon Sing
The Staghunters Inn stands on the bank of the East Lyn, a family-run country inn with rooms, a bar kept separate from the restaurant, and a real fire, its garden running down to the water. The evening menu is unfussy: homemade cottage pie under Cheddar-topped mash, fisherman's pie, a locally made prime-beef burger, West Country ham with eggs and chips, chicken curry, chilli con carne, scampi, and vegan options that run to a vegetable curry, a chilli and a bolognese. Exmoor Ale, a 3.8% session bitter, is the regular cask beer, and there is usually at least one real cider, sometimes two in summer. Dogs and children are welcome.
The name is old. The 1841 tithe map already recorded the property as "Staghunters Inn: Houses and Garden," owned by William Bromham and occupied by Nathaniel Bromham, and it has carried the name for at least 180 years. The Brendon Sing, a monthly folk-song gathering that began up the valley at the Rockford Inn, had already been meeting at the Staghunters for more than 25 years by 2015.
Leeford bridges and Doone-country walking
Brendon itself is a single line of buildings strung along the deep East Lyn valley, reached from the A39 or the B3223 by minor roads. At Leeford, two stone bridges cross the river about thirty metres apart. The road bridge is probably 18th-century, its northern approach eased and its parapet raised in the 1800s; beside it the humped, cobbled packhorse bridge is older still, once the link between Brendon Mill and the north bank. The Coleridge Way is picked up across Leeford Bridge, and Rockford is reachable on foot over a footbridge.
The walking is why many people come. The Doone Valley circuit crosses a two-arched 17th-century bridge at Malmsmead, climbs through the sessile oaks of Southern Wood to Malmsmead Hill, passes the scant remains called Lorna's Cott and a deserted medieval settlement, and follows Badgworthy Water to R. D. Blackmore's memorial and Oare Church, where Blackmore's grandfather was rector and which he made the setting for Lorna Doone's wedding. A longer Exmoor classic links Countisbury and Brendon along the East Lyn towards Lynmouth and returns to County Gate on the coast path; the National Park sums it up as "Deep wooded combes and tumbling water."
St Brendan's church and Domesday Brendon
The Church of St Brendan stands isolated, high to the west of the village. Its nave, chancel and south porch date from 1738, the tower was rebuilt in 1828, and an 1873 restoration added the north aisle, transept and vestry; the church replaced a 12th-century foundation at Cheriton, abandoned when worship moved down the valley. Inside are a 12th-century scalloped font, a slate datestone of 1707 reset above the porch, a painted royal coat of arms, and a stone pulpit of 1873. The reredos, altar rails and choir stalls were the work of a Brendon carpenter, John Floyd; the wooden lectern was carved by Joseph Totterdell, also of Brendon.
The Domesday surveyors valued Brendon at £5 a year to its lord, up from thirty shillings when Ralph of Pomeroy took it after the Conquest. The entry, shared with neighbouring Lank Combe, counted eight villagers, six smallholders and five enslaved people, along with a cob, 25 cattle, 8 pigs, 100 sheep, 30 goats, and 104 animals simply listed as "other."
Riding, access and Watersmeet
Brendon Manor Stables, run by Charlotte Wilson and Phil Lacey off the B3223, offers guided treks across Exmoor, from lead-rein rides to one-to-one instruction. Brendon has no bus stop of its own, and the nearest station is Barnstaple, about twenty miles away on the Tarka Line to Exeter.
Downstream lies Watersmeet, where the East Lyn joins Hoar Oak Water among ancient oaks, and where a lodge built in 1832 has served cream teas since 1900. When the walking is done and the light comes off the water, the Staghunters garden is a good place to end it.
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- The Staghunters Inn — staghunters.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Church of St Brendan — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Brendon Manor Stables — brendonmanor.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Leeford Bridge — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Leeford Packhorse Bridge — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Countisbury and Brendon Walk — exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Doone Valley Country Walk — visitlyntonandlynmouth.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Malmsmead Bridge — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Watersmeet — nationaltrust.org.uk national body or asset manager record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- The Buttery — buttery-cafe.com operator, sector body or destination organisation