Okehampton: Walking Trails, Nature and History

Okehampton combines impressive landscapes, traces of history and several clearly distinct options for active days during your holiday. The ruins of Okehampton Castle lie on a wooded ridge above the fast-flowing River West Okement. There are also nature reserves, woodland paths and various walking trails. Anyone looking for a holiday apartment in Okehampton can therefore choose the town as a base for a trip that brings together nature experiences, history and routes of different lengths.

Landscape between woodland, wetlands and meadows

The Old Town Park Nature Reserve comprises woodland, wetlands and meadows. This combination gives your stay a different character from a purely urban visit: you can include nature observation and walks in your travel plans without every outing following the same pattern. Its connection with historic Okehampton Castle dates back into the past. The nature reserve was once part of a large deer park associated with Okehampton Castle.

Simmons Park also offers a green side of the town. The park opened in July 1907 and was named after Sydney Simmons. Its features include woodland paths. For travel plans with different daily rhythms, this allows you to envisage both a longer walking day and a stroll through a park landscape.

Walking trails with different route profiles

Okehampton is an interesting place for travellers who want to choose their walks according to length and destination. The Two Castles Trail is a 24-mile signposted walking trail between Okehampton Castle and Launceston Castle. The West Devon Way runs for 37 miles from Okehampton to Plymouth. You should take both distances into account when planning your own days and stages; they represent longer walking experiences, each with its own direction.

A shorter alternative among the options mentioned is the Okehampton Deer Park Circuit. The circular walking route is 4.5 miles long and starts from Okehampton. Along the way, it passes the remains of medieval longhouses and the Deer Park hunting lodge. This allows you to combine a route with historical discoveries without choosing the same route format as a long-distance trail. Travellers with different interests can therefore weigh up a longer connection against a circuit with specific historical stops.

Historical impressions in the town

Okehampton's history is evident not only at the castle ruins and along the Deer Park Circuit. The Victorian Arcade was completed in 1896 as the most direct connection between Okehampton town centre and Okehampton railway station. The structure is therefore one of the historical landmarks that can be incorporated into a stay in the town. Together with Simmons Park and Okehampton Castle, it creates a varied picture of urban history, parkland and medieval traces.

Getting there and choosing a suitable base

For travelling by train, the Dartmoor Line is an important point of reference: it connects Exeter St Davids, Crediton and Okehampton. Anyone who wants to consider a rail connection when choosing accommodation can include this route in their travel plans. The walking opportunities that begin in Okehampton or are based there also make the town a natural direction in which to search for a holiday apartment if walking trails and historical destinations are to be the focus of the trip. Okehampton Golf Club also offers visitors online booking, adding a sporting option to the documented range of travel interests.

Further places for your research

If you would like to compare other destinations in addition to Okehampton, you can also look at Plympton, Ashburton, Uffculme, Ilsington, Moretonhampstead, Bampton, North Huish and Exbourne. This allows you to combine the search for a suitable holiday apartment with different choices of location before finalising your travel plans in more detail.

To the higher-level travel overview: Devon.