Okehampton Castle visit and riverside walk
Our recent visit to Devon saw the OH coming on holiday with us for the first time in 4 years. And only the 2nd time since N was born. We arrived too early to get into out holiday cottage, so stopped off for lunch in Okehampton. Afterward we still had an hour to spare so headed up to Okehampton Castle.
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Okehampton Castle wander
The castle is an English Heritage site but only cost us £13.50 for a the family ticket without membership. Included in the prices you can have audio tours where you just press the relevant number as you’re going round the castle. It includes history about the ruins as well as a bit more about the people who lived there. The tour was worth listening too, with a few amusing parts. Even N enjoyed listening as he walked round.
Okehampton Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle originally built after the Norman Conquest, then converted into a luxury residence by Hugh Courteney in the 14th Century. It since fell into ruins, but is good for an hour so of exploring.
As the castle is on top of a mound, you need to be fairly mobile to walk around it.
There’s plenty to learn about and imagine how they used to live at this old castle, used as a hunting lodge to invite important people to. It’s unsurprising it was used as a hunting base given the woodland around it.
Once we finished looking around the castle (another of our fleeting visits, even with the audio tours, we were finished in 40 minutes), we wandered around the south side of the castle mound. It was a nice stroll but there’s not much else to see once you’re outside the ruins.
Old Town Park Walk
But heading back to the car, we spotted a walk through to the Old Town Park walk next to the river and beyond. The area includes disabled access to the town centre. It was lovely to explore and see where the various paths led.
We wandered and sat for around half an hour. Just pottering and N enjoying his dad doing silly things.
Sometimes the quick stop offs prove to be the best visits with some hidden gems behind them.
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