In 1952 it was the scene of the devastating Lynmouth flood when in one night 35 people were killed and a further 420 were made homeless.

The resemblance was popularised by the Romantic Movement poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and Southey:[2][3][4] From the Summerhouse Hill between the two is a prospect most magnificent - on either hand, combes and river; before, the beautiful little village, which, I am assured by one who is familiar with Switzerland, resembles a Swiss village".

[6][7] Lynton and Lynmouth became popular with tourists in the early 1800s when the Napoleonic Wars closed mainland Europe to British travellers; unable to make their Grand Tour due to the conflict, visitors to Lynton and Lynmouth found the area evocative of their earlier sojourns in the Alps en route to Italy.

The twin villages are also the centre for the 21 Mile Drive figure of eight scenic route around Little Switzerland.

[14] A successor parish called Lynton was established to cover the former urban district.