Short answer: Okehampton sits against the northern edge of Dartmoor, the highest and wildest part of the National Park, and you can walk onto it from the town. Check the military firing range times before you go — red flags mean live firing, and that is not advisory.
This is the high ground: the biggest, emptiest, most exposed part of Dartmoor, rising immediately behind the town. It is also the part that most rewards walking, because there is nothing out there — no road, no wall, no shelter, and on a clear day a view that goes on for miles.
Large parts of the northern moor are military firing ranges. Red flags fly when firing is live and the times are published in advance. This is not a formality and it is not negotiable. Checking takes a minute and it determines where you can walk.
Bellever Forest, £5 all-day parking, with forestry tracks under trees, wild ponies and the East Dart running through. When the high moor is socked in — which is often — this is the walk that still works.
National Trust, north west of the town, with the Devil's Cauldron whirlpool and the White Lady waterfall. Two car parks and two loops, so decide which end before setting off. Steep and rocky, and slippery in the wet, which is also when the falls are best.
The other direction, above the Teign gorge. The walk up from Fingle Bridge is a proper climb with the gorge below it, and the gardens at the top are immaculate. Narrow lanes in, so allow time.
Okehampton's station means you can arrive by train from Exeter and walk out onto the moor from the town without a car at all — which is close to unique on Dartmoor and the best argument for basing a walking trip here.
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