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PLACES TO VISIT IN AND NEAR OKEHAMPTIN
In or Close to the Town Centre
. . . . . .
The fine town-hall
,
built as a private house in 1685.
. . . . . .
The Georgian "White-Hart Inn"
opposite the town-hall.
. . . . . .
The famous Victorian Arcade,
a covered shopping area.
. . . . . .
The Museum of Dartmoor Life
.
Within walking distance of the Town Centre
. . . . . .
Okehampton Castle
,
as described above, in the valley of the River Okement,
close to the road to Launceton in Cornwall.
Although now in ruins, the remaining walls and towers are still imposing and spectacular,
as befitting a castle that was among the strongest in all Britain in Norman and subsequent times.
An evening visit to see the Castle under floodlight is also very worth while.
. . . . . . . The Iron Age hill-fort,
SE of the town on a steep ridge.
Outside Okehampton, easily accessible by Road
. . . . . .
Lydford,
now a village, but established as a Saxon town by King Alfred the Great in about AD 880.
. . . . . .
Tavistock,
the home town of Sir Francis Drake.
. . . . . . Dartmoor National Park
a large and beautiful wild area of hills and tors
(grassy peaks topped by rock formations).
The two tallest peaks of Dartmoor, Yes Tor and High Wilhays, each more than 600 metres in height,
are not far south of Okehampton town.
. . . . . .
Meldon Viaduct
,
formerly a railway viaduct but now open for pedestrians,
giving fine views into the ravine and over Dartmoor.
. . . . . .
Meldon Reservoir
:
a spectacular dam again giving stupendous views over Dartmoor.
. . . . . .
The Finch "Foundry"
(National Trust)
in the nearby village of Sticklepath:
this is a 19th Century iron-forging factory, with its water-channels, water-wheels,
and water-powered machinery still in working order.
. . . . . .
Belstone
,
a nearby, very pretty village on and open to the Moor and its sheep and ponies.
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