Bude

Bude is a small seaport and watering-place in Cornwall, England, on the north coast at the mouth of the river Bude. It is in the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency. With the market town of Stratton, 1 1/8 miles inland to the east, it is administered by the Bude-Stratton Town Council. Its population in 1901 was 2308; by 2001 it had risen to 4674 [1].

Bude was served by a branch of the London & South-Western railway. Its only notable building is the Early English parish church of St Michael and All Angels. The climate is healthy and the coast scenery in the neighbourhood fine, especially towards the south. There the gigantic cliffs, with their banded strata, have been broken into fantastic forms by the waves. Many ships have been wrecked on the jagged reefs which fringe their base. The figure-head of one of these, the “Bencellon” lost in 1862, is preserved in the churchyard. The harbour, sheltered by a breakwater, will admit vessels of 300 tons at high water; and the river has been dammed to form a basin for the canal which once ran to Launceston but now runs only a few miles inland.

Industry

Tourism is the main industry in the Bude area. Some fishing is carried on. In the past the staple trade was the export of sand, which, being highly charged with carbonate of lime, was much used for manure. There are golf links near the town.

Beaches

There are a number of good beaches in the Bude area, many of which offer good surfing conditions.

• Summerleaze and Crooklets beaches are both within the town;
• Widemouth bay is a few miles south of the town and offers a long wide sandy beach;
• Sandymouth Beach is owned by the National Trust and has spectacular cliffs and rock formations with shingle below the cliffs and a large expanse of sand at low tide.

Article based upon 1911 Encyclopdia Brittanica entry