thumb The
River Culm flows through
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It rises in the
Blackdown HillsThe Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991....
at a spring -
see OS map - near Culmhead and flows west through
HemyockHemyock is a village in Devon, England. It is located approximately five miles from the Somerset town of Wellington. The River Culm flows through Hemyock...
, then
Culmstockthumb|Old stone bridge with pedestrian refuges over River Culm at CulmstockCulmstock is a picturesque parish village in east Devon, about 5 miles from Tiverton and 7 or so miles NE of Cullompton. It is laid out on both sides of the River Culm; the village is joined by a single old narrow stone...
(in the Culm Valley) to
UffculmeUffculme is a village located in the Mid Devon district, of Devon, England.-History:Situated in the Blackdown Hills on the B3440, close to the M5 motorway, Uffculme is on the upper reaches of the River Culm. Historically, it was a parish in Bampton Hundred, under the Peculiar jurisdiction of the...
. The river turns south, through
CullomptonCullompton is a town in Devon, England in the district of Mid Devon, lying on the River Culm and next to the M5 motorway. It is from Exeter and from the main town of Mid Devon, Tiverton. The parish covers nearly and stretches for along the Culm valley. it had a population of around 8,600...
(and alongside the
M5 motorwayThe M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
), skirting the northern boundary of
KillertonKillerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public...
Park to join the
River ExeThe River Exe in England rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon...
on the north-western outskirts of
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
.
thumb The
River Culm flows through
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It rises in the
Blackdown HillsThe Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991....
at a spring -
see OS map - near Culmhead and flows west through
HemyockHemyock is a village in Devon, England. It is located approximately five miles from the Somerset town of Wellington. The River Culm flows through Hemyock...
, then
Culmstockthumb|Old stone bridge with pedestrian refuges over River Culm at CulmstockCulmstock is a picturesque parish village in east Devon, about 5 miles from Tiverton and 7 or so miles NE of Cullompton. It is laid out on both sides of the River Culm; the village is joined by a single old narrow stone...
(in the Culm Valley) to
UffculmeUffculme is a village located in the Mid Devon district, of Devon, England.-History:Situated in the Blackdown Hills on the B3440, close to the M5 motorway, Uffculme is on the upper reaches of the River Culm. Historically, it was a parish in Bampton Hundred, under the Peculiar jurisdiction of the...
. The river turns south, through
CullomptonCullompton is a town in Devon, England in the district of Mid Devon, lying on the River Culm and next to the M5 motorway. It is from Exeter and from the main town of Mid Devon, Tiverton. The parish covers nearly and stretches for along the Culm valley. it had a population of around 8,600...
(and alongside the
M5 motorwayThe M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
), skirting the northern boundary of
KillertonKillerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public...
Park to join the
River ExeThe River Exe in England rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon...
on the north-western outskirts of
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
. The name of the river is thought to mean 'knot' or 'tie', in reference to the river's twists and loops.
The River Culm begins in a marshy field near Culmhead (picture 2). Four and a half miles from its source the river crosses a road (OS ST17501455). At this point the river is 1.5m wide (picture 3). At Gladhayes the river passes under a two-arched bridge (picture 4). From here the river flows on and reaches Culmstock, a village built on both sides of the river. The river is shallower here (picture 5). At Uffculme the river flows in a straight course and flows more slowly (picture 6). As the river flows on it passes the market town of
CullomptonCullompton is a town in Devon, England in the district of Mid Devon, lying on the River Culm and next to the M5 motorway. It is from Exeter and from the main town of Mid Devon, Tiverton. The parish covers nearly and stretches for along the Culm valley. it had a population of around 8,600...
and flows beside the M5 motorway. The river
meanderA meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a river erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternatively eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
s a lot here and is prone to flooding. It passes under a paper mill at Hele (picture 7). North of Stoke Canon the river has many meanders (picture 8). It joins the River Exe just below Stoke Canon (picture 9).
.