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BUDEThe popularity of Bude as a seaside resort dates from Victorian times. O`st rowdy" resort in the county, Bude has managed to retain its atmosphere of easy going charm whilst catering for the most discerning of modern day tourists. In the 19th Century it was notorious for its wreckers, who plundered the ships that came to grief off the coast - more than 80 between 1824 and 1874. In 1823 the Bude Canal was dug to carry beach sand - used as a fertiliser - 20 miles inland to Launceston and for exporting Local produce. It was this waterway that brought development to the town. The canal is now used for pleasure-boating and fishing. The Castle, a castellated stone mansion standing on a grassy knoll overlooking Summerleaze Beach, was built in 1830 by the inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, the first man to make a long journey in a mechanical vehicle - a steam carriage - from London to Bath and back. The building now houses the Town Council's offices: with the delightful grounds used for band concerts and fetes held throughout the summer help. "The long, wave and the thundering shores of Bude" as Tennyson expressed in his poem The Birth of King Arthur, have long made Bude a surfer's paradise. The Atlantic-pounded beaches of both Summerleaze and Crooklets have been described by Australian surfers as the "Bondi of Britain" and it was here in 1953 that some of them formed the first Surf Life Saving Club in the country. The Club still thrives and weekly demonstrations give an insight to its valuable role. The town overlooks a wide bay of hard golden sand flanked by spectacular cliffs and protected by a breakwater. There is a seawater swimming pool under Summerleaze Downs which means safety for swimmers even at low tide. Two excellent lifeguard patrolled beaches - Crooklets and Summerleaze - have extensive flat sands when the tide is out and are perfect for beach lovers of all ages. As well as the seawater pool, Bude now also boasts a large heated indoor leisure pool with flume, wave machine and cafe. Laser dome, trampolines, putting, floodlit tennis courts, mini-golf and go-karting close to the beaches all add to the family fun.
The town itself offers a wide range of amenities for the holiday maker and a visit to the splendid new Visitor Centre in the Crescent car park would be an excellent placed to start. Alongside an extensive display by the North Cornwall Heritage Coast and Countryside Service, and a children's area, a full range of tourist information is available and the staff will be pleased to help you plan your holiday - whatever the weather. Bude offers Summer theatrical shows, concerts, regular dances, discos, numerous fetes and events, many with an historical theme, specially staged for visitors. Attractions include a weekly Cornish Furry Dance, full scale Carnival Week, Folk and of course the internationally renowned 8 day Jazz Festival (now in its 7th year). In fact something for everyone! Several years ago the phrase "the liveliest peace of Cornwall" was coined to describe the pleasure of Bude and its environment, and despite the fact that it has now become the centre for several Festivals, little has changed to alter this claim. The natural beauty of the surrounding countryside and rugged coastline have been carefully preserved. Crisp, clean sands, great Atlantic surfing rollers, a high rate of sunshine and walks with magnificent views of Bude Bay, are there for the visitors' enjoyment and always will be. The choice is yours: whether to soak up the excitement and atmosphere of one of the Festivals, or to just soak up the peace and sheer beauty of the environment, whether to participate in the many and varied activities or to relax totally in a town renowned for its helpful friendliness. One word of warning though - we have it on good authority that one visit to Bude is rarely enough - many visitors return again and again to experience this "the loveliest peace of Cornwall". STRATTON, the parent town of Bude, probably dates back to Roman times, but it was as the stronghold of King Charles and the Royalists that it made its mark in history. During the Civil War the 7'4" Cornish giant, Anthony Payne, was enlisted as a bodyguard to the Royalist Sir Bevil Grenville. He fought beside Sir Bevil, Who commanded the King's army in the victorious battle at nearby Stamford Hill in 1643. Payne lived and died in the Grenville manor house at Stratton - now the Tree Inn. It is said that, when the giant died, the house had to be restructured to allow his huge coffin to be carried in and out. Many of the very fine churches of Cornwall still bear the Royal Crest decreed by the King in gratitude to his loyal Cornishmen during the Civil War. POUGHILL is a picturesque village just one mile Northeast of Bude and winner of the Best Kept Village award on a number of occasions. The church of St. Olaf is one of the treasure houses of Cornwall, from its Norman font and wonderful collection of bench-ends (78 in all) telling the story of the Passion in remarkable detail, to the pair of immense 15th Century paintings of St. Christopher facing each other across the nave. The old Iychgates are kept in the tower and the huge Royal Coat of Arms is dated 1655, a reminder that the Headquarters of Sir Bevil Grenville, during the Civil War, was at nearby Stowe Barton. WIDEMOUTH BAY just south of Bude, lies in an area of outstanding natural beauty on the North Cornish coast. Facing the Atlantic, the beach is ideal for surfing and a paradise for children with its beautiful stretch of golden sand and innumerable rock pools to explore. The justly famous Coastal Footpath runs along the cliff-top in either direction and offers walkers a superb panorama of the coastline and surrounding countryside. There are two large car parks next to the beach, each with its own cafe and toilets. LAUNCELLS is set in a secluded valley three miles east of Bude; it is away from everywhere, charming in its loveliness among the fields. The church of St. Swithin has a very old door with an immense lock leading us to a delightfully unrestored interior with some fine examples of carved bench-ends, barrel roofs and some interesting 15th Century floor tiles from the Barnstaple potteries. The grave of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney lies here and 40 yards south of the church is the small but impressive well of St. Swithin. MARHAMCHURCH lies on the disused canal just two miles south-east of Bude. It was founded as a monastic settlement by St. Morwenna and every year, on the Monday after 12th August, the ancient Marhamchurch Revel is held to celebrate the Saint's good works. A Queen of the Revel is elected from among the village schoolgirls and crowned by Father Time on the spot in front of the church where St. Morwenna's cells once stood. A procession, led by the local band and the newly crowned Queen riding on horseback, then passes through the village to the Revel Ground.
MORWENSTOW like Marhamchurch, has a church dedicated to St. Morwenna. Standing high above the sea, about 7 miles north of Bude, the church is very impressive with much remaining of the original Norman building including the south doorway and the font. There is also work of the 13th, 15th and 16th centuries and some fine wagon roofs. During the Last century, the originator of the Harvest Festival, the eccentric poet/priest Robert Hawker was Vicar here. The chimneys of the rectory, which he had built, each represent buildings with which he had earlier been associated. He showed great concern for shipwrecked sailors, campaigning vigorously against the wreckers in his parish and had a shipwreck lookout on the cliffs nearby. KILKHAMPTON stands 600 feet above the sea, three miles south of Morwenstow . it is a large attractive village in the heart of "Grenville country"- Sir Richard (cousin of Walter Raleigh and friend of Sir Francis Drake) was born here in the 16th Century and Sir Bevil in the 17th Century. Nearby Stowe Barton was the house of the Grenville family. It was built on the site of Stowe House, once one of the most magnificent homes in England and described by Charles Kingsley in "Westward Ho!". The church, standing in the village street by a quaint courtyard of cottages, speaks eloquently of heraldry, and it is obvious that rich men have lavished their wealth upon it. It contains some of the finest work in Cornwall, from its Norman south doorway to its large collection of bench-ends and fine window tracery of the 15th and 16th centuries. WEEK ST. MARY is a quiet village about seven miles south of Bude. Its history dates from the time of Domesday when it was probably the religious centre of the district - a Harvest Revel is held every September. The great lady of Week St. Mary was Thomasine Bonaventure, a local shepherdess who was taken to London by a rich merchant. Here she married three Lords in turn, the last Sir John Percival who became Lord Mayor in 1497. When he died she came back to her village home as Lady Bountiful. She built a school which has now become a group of cottages, she endowed a chantry in the church and left the vicar of Liskeard a beautiful chalice. ST. GENNYS is a delightful little village perched 400 feet up on the cliff side just above Crackington Haven - it clings to the hillside and looks out to the great headlands which drop sheer down to the sea. The churchyard is so steep that one of its paths is almost level with the roof. Much of the church is as it stood in Norman England. POUNDSTOCK three miles north-west of Week St. Mary, is the site of Penfound Manor, the oldest inhabited manor house in Britain. Part Saxon, part Norman with Elizabethan and Stuart additions: it was mentioned in the Domesday Book and even boasts a friendly ghost. The 14th century Guildhouse, restored in 1919, is the only one still in use in Cornwall; the upper floor of the two storey cob and stone building has a lofty timbered roof and medieval doorway. Unfortunately this fascinating Manor is not open to the public. South West Water has completed the first "Clean Sweep" programme in Bude to guarantee clean bathing water on Bude's beaches. Water quality testing takes place on a regular basis and results are consistently amongst the best in the country. Please note there are restrictions on taking dogs on certain beaches from April to October. Ask at Bude Visitor Centre for full details. CROOKLETS AND SUMMERLEAZE are the two fine Bude beaches, of which mention has been made before. It is possible, at low tide, to walk to Summerleaze from Sandymouth, Northcott Mouth or Crooklets - please check on the tide times and make sure you won't be trapped against the cliffs by the incoming tide.
WIDEMOUTH BAY - the most easily accessible and largest of the beaches, lying adjacent to the coast road. Black Rock stands proud of the rest of the rocks on the beach which create a large number of interesting rock pools. DUCKPOOL - a delightful little cove at the end of Coombe Valley. SANDYMOUTH - except at high tide this is a magnificent stretch of firm golden sand, with many rock pools, reached by driving down a winding country lane. The car park and cafe are run by the National Trust. NORTHCOTT MOUTH - again, except at high tide, a beautiful sandy beach interspersed with many rock pools. CRACKINGTON HAVEN - A delightful spot, with a sandy beach, surrounded by stretches of down-land covered with golden gorse.
The Bude Canal was built primarily to transport sea sand, rich in lime, to farms in North Cornwall & West Devon, where the soil was poor. Sea-going vessels using the sea lock with a depth of 15 feet on an average spring tide brought coastal cargoes of limestone coal and general merchandise. The lock is one of the last working sea locks in the country and well worth a visit. On the higher wharf, grain and cargo were stored in Pethericks Building, which has sadly since been demolished, although one building still remains which has been converted into flats. At the far end of the wharf, lime kilns functioned, the remains of one being visible to this day, also a foundry and a timber mill which later became a steam laundry and has now been converted into four houses. In the same vicinity, boat building and repairs took place, with boats travelling to and from the sea via the sea locks, and up the canal past Falcon Bridge, then a swing bridge, being replaced in recent years by the County Council. The building which is now "The Brasserie", the Bark House and the Museum (which used to be the blacksmith's shop) are three of the original buildings on the wharf. HELEBRIDGE - The first part of the Bude Canal, from the sea locks to Helebridge, is a traditional barge lock canal, and is still navigable, although the lock gates at Rodds Bridge and Whalesborough have long since been replaced with concrete spillways. A level canalside walk, either to Helebridge and back, or travelling via Upton or Widemouth Bay, back to Bude, takes in not only the canal, but also the nature reserve, and a wide variety of differing wildlife habitat. At Helebridge itself, after crossing the A39, one can see the old wharf area, and the restored barge workshop, where the local council have set up a pleasant picnic area. INLAND At Helebridge the canal changes, and instead of locks, the canal traverses its first hill up an inclined plane. The canal tub boats, with wheels fitted to their undersides, were pulled up this first plane for a distance of 836ft - a rise of 120ft. The canal then travelled through Marhamchurch, to the much larger inclined plane at Hobbacott, which is accessible along a public footpath from the viewing point on the A3072 at Hobbacott Down, between Red Post and Stratton. Continuing on to Red Post the canal branches off towards Launceston, following the Tamar Valley, with the other branch heading towards the "port" town of Holsworthy. The Holsworthy leg of the canal also has a branch off towards Tamar Lake, which was originally built to feed the canal with water, and some parts of this are well worth a visit, particularly the old "Bude Aqueduct" where there is an interpretation centre at Virworthy Wharf. The Launceston branch nearly reached the navigable upper reaches of the Tamar and it can be imagined that this could have been seen either as a short cut for shipping from Wales to the English Channel or an attempt to set Cornwall adrift into the Atlantic! In either event the Canal is a fine piece of industrial heritage and further details can be found in the Bude Museum, at local information centres, or from the Bude Canal Society, whose aims are to interpret, promote, conserve and maintain The Bude Canal. The Battle of Stratton 16th May 1643 At the beginning of our Civil Wars Cornwall stood firmly in Royalist hands, but the tables were turned when a large Roundhead army under the command of the Earl of Stamford launched itself across the Tamar to invade the county. Stamford barricaded himself on the hill near Stratton that now bears his name. He had 5,400 infantry, 200 horse, 13 cannon, and a great mortar. To face Stamford the Cornish leaders, Sir Ralph Hotpoint and Sir Bevil Grenville, had less than three thousand men. They nevertheless resolved that "come what may" they must assault the near impregnable enemy camp. The battle began on Tuesday, 16th May, at dawn. "Hedgehogs" of Royalist pikemen moved into the attack, with fire support from musketeers and light artillery. For nearly ten hours the fight moved to and fro, until the Cavaliers had all but expended their ammunition. At this crucial moment they decided to put their trust in the cold steel'. The silent march struck terror in the Roundheads and they wavered. Victory was clinched by Grenville, whose wing scaled the summit, rolling up Stamford's line and carried all before them. Hopton's men captured all the enemy cannon, baggage, money, supplies, and more prisoners than they knew what to do with. And Cornwall was saved. Each year the Battle is re-enacted locally by members of the Sealed Knot Society. This is a charitable society devoted to keeping the traditions of the English Civil War alive. The date for the re-enactment is the nearest weekend to the sixteenth of May.
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