Discover Devon's Literature Scene

North Devon provided the inspiration for the classic novels Lorna Doone and Tarka the Otter. Exmoor is Lorna Doone country, as brought to life by Richard Doddridge Blackmore, who was actually born in Oxfordshire but will forever will associated with North Devon, where he spent most of his childhood. 

The book's Doone Valley is around five miles from Lynton and is best reached via Malmsmead. Exmoor provides a unique landscape of moorland, woodland, valleys and farmland, shaped by people and nature over thousands of years. 

Where high cliffs plunge into the Bristol Channel, and cosy pubs and tearooms offer delicious local produce. 

Tarka the Otter was based around the Taw-Torridge rivers. The Tarka Trail, as it is now called, is a honeypot for visitors every year. The countryside described by Williamson has remained virtually untouched. For those wishing to see the place where the Tarka's journey started and ended, it is Canal Bridge on the River Torridge near Weare Giffard.