Okey Dokey in Okehampton
En route to our base near Tavistock, we stopped over in Okehampton to explore the northern edge of the national park, following a 9 mile circuit that leads straight from the town centre to the slopes of Belstone Tor. Within 5 minutes we were changing into wet weather gear. The promised sunny intervals never materialised; it basically varied from light rain to heavy rain, with middling rain in between.
Undeterred we took an attractive woodland path out of town, past the relics of the old castle, erstwhile seat of the Courtenay family from Norman times, to reach open moorland. Pretty bleak up here, with clouds circling the granite hilltops.
Disconcertingly, there was a military exercise taking place in the nearby MoD firing range, out of sight but definitely within earshot. Em said it felt like we’d stumbled on the set of Apocalypse Now, with some sergeant major barking out orders to no doubt drenched squaddies. The multitude of Shetland ponies that abound here seemed pretty insouciant.
We couldn’t find decent shelter for our lunch spot, though there were good views out to Yes Tor and High Willhays, apparently the highest points in Southern England at over 2000 ft.
Picture below is Em’s legendary conquest of the somewhat more diminutive Winter Tor.
And here’s a sheep charging tolls at the stile to exit the the moor.
On returning into Okey, Em profiled a local woman, middle aged and generously proportioned, as a likely connoisseur of cakes, and asked her for directions to the town’s finest cafe. The recommendation took us to the Pig Pen, serving tasty carrot cake and salted caramel brownies.
Our journey to the Roundhouse outside Tavy went off without incident. The place is quirky, with window benches on three sides of the semi circular front room. Wi-Fi is on the Jurassic side of slow. Em’s signature home made lasagne is in the oven. There are fine views out to Dartmoor, where hopefully drier conditions await us.
Joff x
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