River Yarty

The river is about {{convert|26|km}} long. The source is in Staple Hill in the Blackdown Hills. It flows on a roughly southern course through Bishopswood, briefly forming the boundary between Devon and Somerset, then between Devon and Dorset following a tripoint of all three counties, through Marsh. It continues to form a river valley for much of the rest of its course, passing between Yarcombe, Stockland, Dalwood and Membury until it meets the River Axe just southwest of Axminster, which continues to the English Channel.{{cite web|url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB108045015130|title=Yarty|publisher=Environment Agency|work=Catchment Data Explorer|date=31 March 2016|accessdate=16 August 2016}}

The A303, a major road across southern England, runs across the Yarty on a high viaduct at Marsh.{{cite report|title=A30/A303 Marsh to Honiton Improvement and A35 Honiton Eastern Bypass Environmental Statement|publisher=Department of Transport|date=July 1993|page=9}} Further south, the A30 crosses the river east of Yarcombe, slightly west of the Devon – Dorset border at the Crawley Bridge.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8675717,-3.05826,3a,75y,111.41h,79.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sI-jg41JzMoOHCzheom4bCQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656|title=Yarcombe Bridge|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=16 August 2016}}

The name is of an uncertain origin but is believed to be derived from Old English. The villages of Yarcombe and Yartyford are both named after the river.{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names|first=David|last=Mills|page=515|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-199-60908-6}}

The upper area forms one of several bisections of the otherwise hilly area around the Blackdown Hills.{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsomerset.co.uk/downloads/dmsimgs/Circular%20Walk%20-%20Otterford_516754477.pdf|title=Circular Walk : Otterford and the Yarty Valley|publisher=Visit Somerset|accessdate=16 August 2016}} As the river is based in a relatively deep valley, it is prone to flooding. There have been numerous formally recorded reports of property damage near the Yarty since the 1960s.{{cite report|url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/devon-summer-floods-2012-joint-report.pdf|title=Flood Investigation Report|publisher=Devon County Council|date=December 2012|page=26}} The land across the flood plain of the Yarty is boggy and difficult to cross. In the late spring of 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion, this caused problems when Lord Albermarle's army were unable to defend the advancing Duke of Monmouth northwards from Lyme Regis towards Sedgemoor.{{cite book|title=The Maligned Militia: The West Country Militia of the Monmouth Rebellion, 1685|first=Christopher|last=Scott|publisher=Routledge|page=223|year=2016|isbn=978-1-317-02461-3}}

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Yarty