Lynmouth Lifeboat Station

Lynmouth Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) base on the North Devon coast, in the twin villages of Lynmouth and Lynton on the edge of Exmoor. It operated from 1869 until 1944, and it is remembered above all for one of the most daring rescues in British lifeboat history.

What is the Lynmouth Lifeboat Station known for?

The station's fame rests on a single night in January 1899. A fierce gale was battering the Bristol Channel coast, and a large sailing ship, the Forrest Hall, was in serious trouble offshore. The Lynmouth lifeboat, the Louisa, was needed urgently, but the sea at Lynmouth was so wild that launching from the harbour was impossible.

Coxswain Jack Crocombe came up with a radical plan: instead of going down to the sea at Lynmouth, the crew would take the boat to a more sheltered place along the coast. That meant hauling the heavy lifeboat and its carriage overland, across Exmoor, to Porlock Weir. The distance is usually given as around 15 miles (24 km) for the whole journey.

How did the overland launch work?

The route was brutal. The lifeboat, weighing roughly ten tons on its carriage, first had to be dragged up the very steep Countisbury Hill, then across the open moorland, and finally lowered down the equally steep Porlock Hill. Local villagers and a team of horses helped the crew, and the work went on through the stormy day and into the night. The boat reached the water at Porlock Weir after many hours of effort, and the crew then rowed out to the ship in distress. All those aboard the Forrest Hall were saved.

The episode is still told locally as a story of teamwork and stubborn determination, and it has been retold in books, exhibitions and even on stage.

A short history of the station

A lifeboat station was established at Lynmouth in 1869, in a harbour community that depended on the sea and had seen its share of shipwrecks. Over the following decades the station kept watch over a difficult stretch of coast, with high cliffs, strong tides and few safe harbours. The service ended in 1944, when the Lynmouth station closed, and the stretch of Exmoor coast was afterwards covered from neighbouring lifeboat stations.

What can you see today?

The station is now part of local heritage rather than an active rescue base. The charm of visiting Lynmouth is that the landscape itself tells the story: the harbour at the foot of the cliffs, the steep road climbing out of the village towards Countisbury, and the wild moorland beyond. Walking or driving part of the route gives a real feeling of how demanding the 1899 journey was.

Lynmouth sits at the meeting point of the East Lyn river and the sea, below the cliff-top town of Lynton, which is linked to it by the historic water-powered cliff railway. A visit to the lifeboat's story fits naturally into a day on the Exmoor coast, alongside coastal walks and the harbour.

Practical tips

• Combine the visit with a walk along the harbour and the lower village.
• Be ready for steep gradients if you want to follow even a part of the old route on foot.
• Check local visitor information for exhibitions and heritage displays about the Louisa.

Frequently asked questions

When was Lynmouth Lifeboat Station active? From 1869 until 1944.

Why is it famous? Because in 1899 the lifeboat was hauled overland across Exmoor to be launched from Porlock Weir, to help a ship in trouble.

Is it still a working lifeboat station? No. It is a former RNLI station, and its history is now a part of local heritage.

Where is it? In Lynmouth, North Devon, England, on the Exmoor coast.