The Lynton Goats

Love them, or hate them, the goats are a part of life in this corner of North Devon. You only have to listen to the first few seconds of Mark Steel’s in Lynton and Lynmouth recorded a couple of years ago at the town hall to hear how divisive the little horned devils are.

Nestled in Valley of Rocks, they are sometimes visible, sometimes not. We often mention to guests not to miss out on that beautiful stretch of coastline and to see the goats. Often, they come back and say, where are the goats then? Stealth, despite other obvious traces. They have been integral here for well over one hundred years and were allegedly brought in to manage the greenery and gorse over Valley of Rocks, but they have been known in days gone by to come into Lynton and raid allotments and gardens.

So famous are they have appeared in the Guardian “Don’t talk about the goat wars: how a feral herd divided a Devon village” and they have their own Facebook page. Not quite “goat of the day”, but photos of them are frequently snapped and shared. Anyway, if you are not a fan of goats and would like a laugh, listen to the recording of life in Lynton and Lynmouth by Mark Steel. What a funny man. And (not name dropping, of course) he stayed with us 😊.

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