The River Culm
Discover this beautiful, but often overlooked, landscape
The River Culm flows through the Redlands of Mid and East Devon and is the longest tributary of the River Exe. It rises in the Blackdown Hills at a spring near RAF Culmhead in Somerset, and flows west through Hemyock, then Culmstock (in the Culm Valley) to Uffculme.
The river then turns south, through Cullompton (alongside the M5 motorway), skirting the northern boundary of Killerton Park to join the River Exe north-west of Exeter.
The Culm Valley is a historic landscape that is rich in the industrial and cultural heritage characteristic of Mid and East Devon…
Explore the many opportunities to walk by the River Culm – unlike many of our Rivers it has public footpaths along miles of its length…
Discover all the latest scientific research that has been done on the River Culm from the region’s leading river scientists…
Wildlife of the Culm
Discover the iconic and wonderful wildlife of the Culm Valley
Like so many of the Westcountry’s rivers, the River Culm and its tributaries are wonderfully rich in wildlife. From iconic birds such as the kingfisher, to otters, a wide array of fish species and the endangered white-clawed crayfish, there is a huge richness in the natural world near, around and in this spectacular river.
Latest Features
What’s happening on the Culm
Soils Matter
A new video from the Westcountry Rivers Trust gives some insights to the importance of soil health, the challenges that different soils pose, and how climate change
Taking care of our white-clawed crayfish
Nicky Green has been working with crayfish in Devon and Somerset for almost twenty years. Her interest has grown over the years to the point that 'crayfishing'
Devon’s beavers are back!
M ark Elliott, Devon Wildlife Trust's Beaver Project Lead, shares the background to and prospects for Devon's now-officially sanctioned wild beavers. The 6th August 2020 will go
What is the Blueprint for the River Culm?
This short film describes the aims for the Blueprint for the Culm, which will be a long-term plan for the River Culm, the streams that flow into
Introducing the project – online talk
In our first online talk members of the project team Dominic Acland and Nick Paling gave a presentation about Connecting the Culm, what it aims to achieve
Culm Conversations – Paul Hawkins of Bradninch
This is the first in a series of short videos capturing the views of people who live along the River Culm. Paul, a resident of Bradninch and a
“High behind haze St Mary’s spire cyphers gold key-chants, that rosary under alder-bank’s ash-yantra – is a florilegium, its beaded loops trace the track from Five Fords then meanders along river’s edgeland margin.”
“I ran from…Culmstock along the River Culm through the water meadows to a little Woodland Trust reserve called Hunkin Wood where I stumbled on a granite gateway with a beautiful poem on it by Elizabeth Rapp.”