River Yeo, Lapford facts for kids

The River Yeo flowing near the village of Lapford.

The River Yeo is a lovely river in Devon, England. It's like a smaller helper river, also known as a tributary, that flows into the bigger River Taw. To help tell it apart from other rivers named Yeo in Devon, people sometimes call it the Lapford Yeo because it flows near the village of Lapford.

There are actually a few rivers called Yeo in Devon! For example, another River Yeo also joins the River Taw, and it's called the Barnstaple Yeo. There's even another River Yeo that flows into the River Creedy, and it starts very close to the Lapford Yeo's source.

Where the River Yeo Starts and Flows

The Lapford Yeo begins its journey near a place called South Tawton. From there, it travels north through the villages of Bow and Zeal Monachorum. Its path then leads it to Lapford.

Joining the River Taw

About 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) past Lapford, the River Yeo meets and joins the River Taw. This meeting point is just below a bridge called Nymet Bridge.

The River Dalch

The biggest stream that flows into the River Yeo is called the River Dalch. It joins the Yeo close to Lapford. The area of land that collects all the rainwater and sends it into the River Yeo (this is called its catchment area) is almost twice as big as the River Taw's catchment area above where they meet. However, the Yeo's area usually gets less rain than the upper Taw valley.

The River's Ancient Name

Long, long ago, the River Yeo was known by a different name: the Nymet. Experts believe this name comes from an ancient Celtic word that means 'shrine'. A shrine is a special, sacred place.

Sacred Places in Celtic Times

You can still find several place names in the area that include 'Nymet', like Nymet Tracey and Nymet Rowland. This suggests that this part of Devon might have been a very important and sacred place to the Celtic people who lived there many centuries ago.