Things To Do near Okehampton
Trendlebere Down, Manaton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
In the eastern section of Dartmoor National Park, a road rises from the gateway town Bovey Tracey past the National Trust's Parke Estate to Yarner Wood and the East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve. The road bends sharply and car parking areas offer stunning views of the Bovey Valley, Lustle...
Haytor Granite Tramway, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
Up on Haytor Down, near Haytor Quarry, is a big lump of granite into which are carved the words Templer Way Haytor - Teignmouth. The Templer Way is a modern recreation trail following the route of the old Haytor Granite Tramway on which granite was transported from the high moor down to the...
Whiteworks, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
A road runs from Princetown to the edge of Foxtor Mires. Whiteworks is at the end of that road. Whiteworks is a disused tin mine. When you visit, you'll see extensive ruins and old mine shafts fenced off from the public. These are next to some modern buildings. Kids can often be seen chargin...
Sharp Tor (Dartmeet/East Dartmoor), Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
Many of Dartmoor's classic views are provided by tors overlooking steep-sided wooded valleys and gorges. There's Sharp Tor in the Teign Gorge, Ger Tor above Tavy Cleave and the Dewerstone above the Dewerstone Valley. Perhaps the best of the lot is the view from Sharp Tor above Dart Gorge. If you can...
Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel), Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
A wheal is a mine. A leat is a man-made waterway used to channel water from, say, a river down to a mine, mill or town/city. Wheal Emma Leat is the now dry channel of a leat built in 1859 that once collected water from near the source of the River Swincombe as it flows past the eastern side of Foxto...
Haytor Circular Walk, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
If possible, we'd recommend this walk on a bright autumn day (say, early October). The colours are exceptional. That said, we've walked it every month of the year and it's gorgeous any time the weather's behaving. Use the Ordnance Survey OL28 Dartmoor map to help plan your walk in tandem with our...
Blackslade Down, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
According to the Dartmoor expert William Crossing, it was on Blackslade Down 'that the wicked Jan Reynolds once entered into a compact with a stranger, who turned out to be the Prince of Darkness, and failing to keep it became his victim. Seven years after the meeting Jan was discovered indulgin...
River Swincombe, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
By Dartmoor standards, this is a short river that rises on the edge of the National Park's south plateau and meets the West Dart River in Dartmoor's central bowl near Hexworthy. The river rises at Swincombe Head above what the Harvey British Mountain Map 'Dartmoor' map refers to as Suns...
Hisley Bridge, Lustleigh, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
Dartmoor is known for its rainfall and rivers which radiate from the National Park's high plateaus. To cross these rivers, there are bridges, clam bridges, clapper bridges, stepping stones and fords. The medieval packhorse bridge that arcs over the River Bovey in Hisley Wood is one of Dartmoor's mos...
Swincombe Headweir Ford, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
The River Swincombe and Strane River (having been fed by Nun's Cross Brook) meet at the eastern end of Foxtor Mires near the beginning of the old Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel). Just before they meet, there are two fords spanning each waterway. After a spell of dry weather, the ford across th...
Hemsworthy Gate, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
We include Hemsworthy Gate on 'Holiday in Dartmoor' as a reference point. As is the case with Nun's Cross Farm and Batworthy Corner, it's a great starting point from which to discover Dartmoor's landscape and history. There's a small car parking area and paths run off in all...
Templer Way, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
Haytor Rocks is, arguably, Dartmoor National Park's most famous tor. The rocks rise from Haytor Down which is peppered with disused quarries and crossed by an old tramway on which granite was transported from the moors down to Stover Canal and then to the coast at Teignmouth from where the rock was...
Emsworthy Local Nature Reserve, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
Nature Emsworthy Local Nature Reserve sits below Haytor Down in the eastern section of Dartmoor National Park. It's very easily accessible and is known for its Spring bluebell showing and cuckoos. We've positioned Emsworthy Local Nature Reserve on Google maps so zoom in on the 'Satellite'...
Foxtor Mires, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
There are some places on Dartmoor that are best avoided. Raybarrow Pool by Cosdon Hill on the north moor is a dangerous place. Down on the edge of the National Park's south plateau, Foxtor Mires is another. Said to have been the inspiration for Grimpen Mire in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Hound of...
Haytor Quarry, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 15 miles away)
One of a number of quarries on the moorland around Haytor Rocks. Granite was quarried here in the 18th and 19th centuries. A granite tramway was built in 1820 to transport the granite down to Stover Canal. From there, quarried granite was taken by water to the Teign Estuary and Teignmouth. Granit...