The Horner River, also referred to as Horner Water, originates near Luccombe on Exmoor and meanders through Porlock, eventually reaching Porlock Bay near Hurlstone Point on the Bristol Channel. At Bossington beach, the river discharges into the sea through a shingle ridge, forming a significant portion of the Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Site of Special Scientific Interest. During periods of exceptionally high river levels, floodwaters accumulate behind the ridge, resulting in breaches. Historical evidence suggests that the river was once diverted to power iron workings. Excavations conducted in 1996 revealed the remains of an iron hammer mill and a breached embankment dam spanning 55 meters along the river. This camera was installed and is maintained by the Environment Agency and can be viewed
here. All content is available under the
Open Government Licence v3.0. Monitoring data indicates that the typical range of the Horner Water at West Luccombe fluctuates between 0.04 meters and 0.65 meters, encompassing 90% of recorded observations. Over the past 12 months, the river has typically fluctuated between 0.05 meters and 0.25 meters, with at least 150 days falling within this range. The highest recorded level at the Horner Water at West Luccombe occurred on Monday, October 30th, 2000, at 4:45 am, reaching 1.13 meters.
The name "Luccombe" is believed to have originated from either "Lufa's valley" or "valley where the counting was done." Historical records from the 1086 Domesday Book refer to it as "Locumbe." Evidence of Iron Age field systems can be found atop Great Hill, along with the presence of the Sweetworthy Iron Age hill fort. In the Domesday Book, East Luccombe was held by Ralph de Limesy, passing to the Luccombe family in the 13th century and later to the Arundell family. Eventually, both East and West Luccombe came under the ownership of the Acland family. Luccombe was part of the Carhampton hundred. In 1944, Sir Richard Acland generously donated the Holnicote Estate, which includes Luccombe, to the National Trust.
