Top Waterfalls Day Trips from Taunton
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Waterfalls Day Trips from Taunton include Trull Waterfall, St Audries Bay Waterfall, Canonteign Falls, Lady Exmouth Falls, Hollowbrook Waterfall, Becky Falls, Sherrycombe Waterfall and Pistyll Goleu.
Taunton makes a fine base for a waterfall hunt, with one gentle fall right on the doorstep and a whole spread of dramatic drops within a day's drive across the West Country. Start close to home at Trull, just south of the town, then head out to the Somerset coast near Watchet, where St Audries Bay tips a stream straight onto the beach beneath the Quantocks.
Swing west into Devon and the eastern fringe of Dartmoor for the towering man-made columns of Canonteign Falls and Lady Exmouth Falls, or press on to Becky Falls, where a brook threads through granite boulders. The wild Exmoor coast holds two more, the plunging Hollowbrook and the remote Sherrycombe, both reached along the South West Coast Path.
Finally, a longer run west into Wales brings you to the mossy little Pistyll Goleu near Llanwonno. From easy strolls to serious cliff walks, there is something here for every kind of day out.
Here are eight waterfalls for a day trip from Taunton.
Trull Waterfall
Photo: Shazz via Geograph.org.uk
Trull Waterfall Just a couple of miles south of Taunton, Trull Waterfall is a small fall on the Sherford Brook, sitting a little east of the village of Trull itself. It is a modest local feature rather than a grand natural cascade, and it turns up on a short circular walk with a viewing bridge over the stream.
The Winchester Arms pub stands close by on Church Road, handy for a drink afterwards. Some accounts suggest the fall began life as a weir built to feed a mill, though that story is not firmly confirmed.
For a gentle stroll near the town, it is a pleasant local spot.
St Audries Bay Waterfall
Photo: Roger Cornfoot via Geograph.org.uk
St Audries Bay Waterfall The layered cliffs here date from the very end of the Triassic and the start of the Jurassic, and they give up ammonites and other fossils to anyone who searches the fallen rock. The waterfall drops straight down the cliff onto the beach at St Audries Bay, near Watchet on the Somerset coast, and you can walk to its base along the shore only when the tide is out, so check the times first.
It is a quiet stretch of coast, reached down from the cliffs, with the Quantock hills rising behind. Pair the fall with a spot of fossil hunting for a fine day.
Canonteign Falls
Photo: Lewis Clarke via Geograph.org.uk
Canonteign Falls A longer day-trip drive west onto the eastern edge of Dartmoor brings you to Canonteign Falls, a tall man-made waterfall in a wooded valley near Christow in Devon. It was created in the late Victorian era, when the lady of the estate had water from a leat diverted over a high natural crag, giving work to miners left idle when the local mines closed.
The result is a slender ribbon dropping some seventy metres, among the tallest in England. Paths climb beside the falls to viewpoints through mossy woodland, and the stream runs on through ornamental lakes toward the River Teign.
There is an admission charge to this private park.
Lady Exmouth Falls
Photo: Lewis Clarke via Geograph.org.uk
Lady Exmouth Falls Lady Exmouth Falls is the main fall at Canonteign, set in the wooded Teign valley near Christow in Devon, and like its neighbour it was shaped by hand rather than by nature. It was created in 1890 by leading water over a cliff, the labour done by miners left idle when the estate's silver mines closed, and it was named for the lady of the estate.
Dropping around seventy metres, it is often described as the highest man-made waterfall in England. Woodland trails lead up to it from the visitor attraction below, a rewarding climb on a day out from Taunton into Devon.
Hollowbrook Waterfall
Photo: Roger Cornfoot via Geograph.org.uk
Hollowbrook Waterfall Out on the Exmoor coast of north Devon, between Woody Bay and Heddon's Mouth, Hollowbrook is a coastal waterfall where a stream drops toward the sea in a run of cascades down a steep combe. It falls a long way in stages, said to be among the highest coastal waterfalls in the country, though it is best seen from the water and hard to make out well from land.
The South West Coast Path crosses the top of the combe, so walkers on that route pass close to it. This is a little-visited fall on a wild, cliff-bound stretch of shore.
Becky Falls
Photo: Martin Bodman via Geograph.org.uk
Becky Falls Gentle in dry weather and thunderous once the brook is full, Becka Brook drops around twenty metres down a jumble of huge granite boulders in old oak woodland near Manaton on Dartmoor. The water threads and falls between the rocks in stages, while ferns, moss and ancient oaks crowd the sides of the little gorge and paths wind up and down beside it over roots and stone.
The falls sit within a gated woodland park with admission, its trails laid out through the trees. Classic Dartmoor of granite and green shade, with the brook running on toward the River Bovey below.
The name was once written Becka.
Sherrycombe Waterfall
Photo: Lewis Clarke via Geograph.org.uk
Sherrycombe Waterfall The combe sits directly beneath Great Hangman, the highest point on the South West Coast Path and one of the tallest sea cliffs in England, which tells you what sort of walk this is. A stream tumbles some thirty feet over a cliff to a hidden rock-and-pebble beach, though you cannot reach that shore from the falls.
It lies on the Exmoor coast between Combe Martin and the Heddon valley in north Devon, and getting to it means a hard stretch of coast path, a steep drop into the valley and a stiff climb out the far side. The effort earns a wild, little-visited spot.
Pistyll Goleu
Photo: Alan Bowring via Geograph.org.uk
Pistyll Goleu The furthest of these on the list, Pistyll Goleu, calls for a proper day-trip drive west into the hills of Rhondda Cynon Taf, in St Gwynno's Forest near Llanwonno. Here the Sychnant stream drops over a face of Pennant sandstone in a small, pretty fall.
It is a tucked-away, lesser-known spot reached on a short walk of about ten minutes from the roadside, often taken in as part of a longer waterfall walk around Llanwonno, and it draws photographers for its mossy, wooded setting. There are no facilities, so come prepared, but the peaceful surroundings make the drive from Taunton worthwhile.
FAQs
Which waterfall is closest to Taunton?
Trull Waterfall, on the Sherford Brook just south of Taunton near the village of Trull, is the closest, a small fall on a short circular walk with a viewing bridge and the Winchester Arms pub nearby.
Are any of these falls on the coast?
Yes. St Audries Bay near Watchet drops onto the beach and can be reached at low tide, while Hollowbrook and Sherrycombe both fall toward the sea on the Exmoor coast of north Devon.
How tall is Canonteign Falls?
Canonteign Falls, and its main drop Lady Exmouth Falls near Christow in Devon, falls around seventy metres, often called the highest man-made waterfall in England, an easy day-trip drive west from Taunton.
Conclusion
From a quiet weir on the Sherford Brook to seventy-metre columns of falling water in Devon, the range of falls within reach of Taunton is impressive. Some, like Trull and St Audries Bay, sit close enough for a half-day amble, while the Exmoor coastal drops at Hollowbrook and Sherrycombe demand a full day and a good pair of boots.
Check tide times before heading to the coast, watch the weather on Dartmoor, and remember that many of these falls run at their liveliest after rain. Whether you fancy a family-friendly walk at Becky Falls or the long haul west to Pistyll Goleu in Wales, there is a route to match your mood.
From gentle streams to wild cliffs, these are the waterfalls for a day trip from Taunton.
