Okehampton and West Devon: Gateway to Dartmoor

Dartmoor Starts Here

Most people approach Dartmoor from the south or east — from Plymouth, from Ashburton, from the pretty tourist towns that sit along the A38. But there is another way onto the moor, and it is arguably the most dramatic. Come from the north, through Okehampton, and Dartmoor rises up in front of you like a wall. The highest points in southern England — Yes Tor and High Willhays — loom directly above the town, and the transition from gentle farmland to wild, open moorland happens in the space of a mile. There is no gradual build-up. One moment you are in a market town with shops and car parks; the next you are standing on some of the most ancient and exposed landscape in England.

Okehampton has always been Dartmoor's northern gateway. It is a small, practical town — not particularly pretty in the chocolate-box sense, but honest and functional, with the confidence of a place that has been doing its job for centuries. The castle is the largest in Devon. The museum tells the story of five thousand years of moorland life. The Granite Way cycling path runs right from the station through some of the finest scenery in the county. And since 2021, you can get here from Exeter by train — the restored Dartmoor Line, reopened for the first time in nearly fifty years.

For a day trip from Exeter, Okehampton offers something genuinely different. This is not a place for browsing gift shops and eating cream teas. It is a place for walking, cycling, exploring, and getting properly outdoors. Bring boots, bring layers, and bring people you want to spend a proper day with.

Getting There: The Dartmoor Line

The story of the Dartmoor Line is one of the feel-good transport stories of recent years. The railway from Exeter to Okehampton originally opened in stages during the 1860s, but regular passenger services were withdrawn in 1972. For nearly fifty years, the track deteriorated and the line lay dormant. Then, in 2021, it was reopened as the first railway restored under the government's Restoring Your Railway initiative, backed by over forty million pounds of investment. Network Rail laid more than eleven miles of new track, twenty-four thousand concrete sleepers, and twenty-nine thousand tonnes of ballast to bring it back to life.

The Dartmoor Line reopened on 20 November 2021. Initially trains ran every two hours, but by May 2022 an hourly service was operating. Today, Great Western Railway runs regular services from Exeter St Davids to Okehampton, with a journey time of about forty minutes. It is one of the shortest and most satisfying train journeys in Devon — from the city to the edge of the moor in under an hour, no car required.

If you are driving from Exeter, take the A30 westbound. Okehampton is about twenty-five miles from Exeter, and the drive takes around thirty-five minutes. The A30 is a good dual carriageway for most of the route, making it one of the quickest escapes from the city.

Okehampton Castle

The castle is the largest in Devon and one of the most atmospheric ruins in the West Country. It sits in the deep, wooded valley of the West Okement River, about a mile south-west of the town centre, just inside the northern edge of Dartmoor National Park. The setting is extraordinary — the ruins emerge from the trees above the river, and on a misty morning the place feels genuinely medieval.

The castle was begun soon after the Norman Conquest by Baldwin FitzGilbert, one of William I's knights, following a revolt in Devon against Norman rule. It started as a motte and bailey castle guarding a crossing point on the river, and formed the centre of the Honour of Okehampton. In the late thirteenth century, the de Courtenay family — who had become the Earls of Devon — converted it from a military fortification into a luxurious hunting lodge. They built a new deer park stretching south from the castle and constructed fashionable lodgings that exploited the views across the landscape.

In the early fourteenth century, Hugh de Courtenay and his mother Eleanor doubled the footprint of the Norman keep, transforming it from a simple tower into a mansion. For a brief period, Okehampton Castle was one of the grandest residences in Devon. But fortune turned. After Henry Courtenay was executed by Henry VIII in 1539, the castle was abandoned and left to decay. The ruins are now in the care of English Heritage.

Opening days vary through the year — the castle runs a shorter week outside the summer months — so check the English Heritage listing before you set off. There is a riverside picnic area, beautiful woodland walks through the valley, and seasonal wildflowers in spring. It is a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours — atmospheric, well-maintained, and far less crowded than many English Heritage sites.

The Granite Way

If you enjoy cycling, the Granite Way is reason enough to visit Okehampton. This eleven-mile multi-use trail runs from Okehampton to Lydford along the north-western edge of Dartmoor, largely following the route of the former Southern Region railway line. It is mostly traffic-free, gently graded, and rated easy to moderate — suitable for families and casual cyclists as well as more experienced riders.

The route is part of National Cycle Network Route 27, the Devon Coast to Coast. Starting from Okehampton Station, you cycle through landscape that shifts from pastoral farmland to open moorland, with fantastic views of Dartmoor's granite tors along the way. The highlight is Meldon Viaduct, a spectacular wrought iron railway viaduct built in 1874 and opened to carry trains between Okehampton and Lydford. It is one of only two surviving railway bridges in the United Kingdom that use wrought iron lattice piers to support wrought iron trusses, and it is now a scheduled monument. From the viaduct, the views of Meldon Dam and the moor beyond are stunning.

Cycle hire is available at the Granite Way Cycle Hub in the Goods Shed by Okehampton station, at the activity centre at YHA Okehampton, and at Devon Cycle Hire roughly halfway along the trail at Sourton Down — all three sit directly on the route. A return ride from Okehampton to Lydford and back covers twenty-two miles and takes most people three to four hours at a comfortable pace, with plenty of stops for views and photographs. Lydford itself is worth a wander — the village has a medieval castle keep, a church dating from the thirteenth century, and Lydford Gorge, a National Trust property with a dramatic waterfall.

Museum of Dartmoor Life

Tucked away in a cobbled courtyard in the centre of Okehampton, the Museum of Dartmoor Life tells the story of five thousand years of human existence on the moor. The collections span from the Bronze Age through to the mid-twentieth century, housed in displays that include a reconstructed Bronze Age hut, Victorian kitchens, a blacksmith's forge, and a wheelwright's workshop.

The museum is small but excellent — the kind of place that gives you a real sense of what life was actually like for the people who lived and worked on Dartmoor across the centuries. Farming, tin mining, quarrying, and the constant negotiation with a landscape that is beautiful but unforgiving. Local artists show in the museum's John Young Gallery, and the season runs from Easter to December each year. It does not publish its daily hours online, so ring or check before you make a special trip.

It is a museum that takes its subject seriously and rewards visitors who do the same.

Yes Tor and High Willhays

For walkers, the big draw near Okehampton is the chance to stand on the highest ground in southern England. High Willhays reaches 621 metres (2,039 feet) above sea level, making it the highest point south of Kinder Scout in the Peak District. Its near neighbour Yes Tor, just two metres lower at 619 metres, is the more visually dramatic of the two — crowned with a trig pillar, a military flagpole, and large outcrops of granite.

The circular walk from Okehampton to both summits covers about ten kilometres and takes three to three and a half hours. It is rated as hard — the terrain is rough, the weather can change rapidly, and there is significant elevation gain. But the reward is extraordinary. On a clear day, you can see across the whole of northern Dartmoor and out to the North Devon coast. The landscape up here is vast and exposed — blanket bog, granite clitterscapes, and sky in every direction. It feels like being on top of the world.

One important note: part of this walk falls within a military firing range. The Ministry of Defence has been using Dartmoor for over two hundred years, and live firing takes place on published dates. Before walking in the ranges, you must check the firing schedule online or by telephone. When the ranges are clear, the walking is superb. When they are not, you need to find an alternative route.

For those who prefer something less strenuous, there are gentler walks from Okehampton along the river valley and around the castle grounds. Our guide to the best walking routes around Exeter and Devon has more suggestions for social walks in the area.

Where to Eat and Drink

Okehampton is not a foodie destination in the way that some Devon towns aspire to be, but it has a solid collection of pubs, cafes, and tea rooms serving honest, locally produced food. After a day on the moor or the Granite Way, that is exactly what you want.

The London Inn on West Street is the town's sports-and-music pub — a proper local rather than a gastropub. The kitchen cooks everything fresh, the meat comes from an Okehampton butcher, and the Sunday roast is what people go for. Live music is free and there is a function room if you are out as a group.

The Plume of Feathers on Fore Street and the White Hart at the top of the same street are the other two town-centre pubs, both a couple of minutes from the bus stops and the Arcade.

If you have come by train, the Bulleid Buffet on the platform at Okehampton station is the easiest first or last stop of the day. And the café at the Granite Way Cycle Hub, in the old Goods Shed beside the station, is dog-friendly and does a seasonal menu built around local produce — handy whether or not you are hiring a bike from them.

Beyond that, the cafes around Fore Street and the Arcade cover post-walk refuelling. Okehampton is a town that caters to walkers and cyclists, so you will find places that understand the particular hunger that comes from a morning outdoors.

The Social Case for Shared Adventure

There is a particular quality to the friendships that are forged through shared physical effort. Walking to the top of Yes Tor together, cycling the Granite Way side by side, getting caught in a Dartmoor rain shower and laughing about it over a pint afterwards — these are the experiences that create stories, inside jokes, and the kind of bonds that dinner alone cannot quite achieve.

Okehampton is the ideal base for this kind of day. It offers just enough infrastructure — a station, a museum, pubs, bike hire — without being so developed that the sense of adventure is lost. You are properly on the edge of the wild here, and that wildness is what makes the day memorable.

If you are looking for more ways to explore Dartmoor with friends, our Dartmoor social guide covers everything from easy walks to pub recommendations. For the wider context of Devon's food and drink heritage, see our guide to Devon's local produce and food traditions. And if the Dartmoor Line has whetted your appetite for Devon's railway adventures, the Tarka Line to Barnstaple is the natural next journey to take.