Okehampton
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Template:GBdot Okehampton is a town in Devon, England, at the northern edge of Dartmoor, on the River Okement. Like many towns in the West Country, it grew on the Mediaeval wool trade.
Notable buildings in the town include the fifteenth century Chapel of St James, and Okehampton Castle. The town is also home to the Museum of Dartmoor Life.
The substantial army training camp on Dartmoor is reached via Okehampton, and is referred to as "Okehampton Camp". It is managed by the Army Training Estate, and used by a variety of military units including many cadet training units. The Ten Tors event is run by the Army each year in early May from Okehampton Camp.
Okehampton's location at the edge of the moor means that it has always been a route centre. The A30 trunk road now bypasses the town. Okehampton was a station on the former northerly rail route from Exeter to Plymouth via Tavistock. The line from Exeter remains open for freight traffic because of Meldon quarry, just to the west of Okehampton. Passenger service from Exeter was recently revived, on summer weekends only, in an attempt to reduce motor traffic to the national park. At other times the town is linked to Exeter and North Cornwall by regular bus services.
External links
- Army Training Estate web page on the role and management of Okehampton Camp (http://www.army.mod.uk/ate/public/southwest.htm)