Okehampton Castle

Okehampton Castle

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Posted 2019-05-29 by Time to walk aboutfollow
Not much remains of this once grand castle, but back in its heyday, it was the largest castle in Devon.



Construction started soon after the Norman conquest in 1066, with the building of a motte and bailey castle but was later converted into a family residence in the 14th century. Then in 1539, its owner fell out of favour with King Henry VIII and was forced out, with the castle being left to ruin.

Access is from a lane not far from the centre of Okehampton. There are some free parking spaces nearby, but if they are full and you don't mind a short walk, there are several other options around town.



Upon entering the castle grounds, the visitor centre staff will give you an audio guide that you can use as you walk around. We found it to be interesting but very long. It helps to provide you with an idea of what went on here all those centuries ago before it got left to crumble.

There are information signs around the castle though not very many, so if you want more detailed information buying the guide book could be useful.

Owned by English heritage, the price to get in is reasonable, but if your planning on visiting several of their sites, I'd recommend getting either an annual pass or an overseas visitor pass which gives you access to all of their sites for either 9 or 16 days and can save you money if you plan on visiting more than 3 sites.



A visit here would take around an hour and a half if you only look around the castle with the audio guide and several more doing the woodland walking tracks.

If the weather is nice, there are plenty of places to have a picnic in the castle or by the riverside below it.

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72126 - 2023-01-26 01:58:11

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