Bude
| |
|---|---|
 | |
  Bude Location withinCornwall | |
| Population | 7,350 (Built up area, 2021)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SS215065 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BUDE |
| Postcode district | EX23 |
| Dialling code | 01288 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www.visitbude.infowww.bude-stratton.gov.uk/ |
| 50°49′26″N4°32′31″W / 50.824°N 4.542°W /50.824; -4.542 | |
Bude (/bjuːd/, locally/buːd/[2] or/bɛwd/;[3]CornishStandard Written Form:Porthbud[4]) is aseaside town in northCornwall, England, in the civil parish ofBude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as theRiver Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.[5]
It lies southwest ofStratton, south ofFlexbury andPoughill, and north ofWidemouth Bay, located along theA3073 road off theA39. Bude istwinned withErgué-Gabéric inBrittany, France.[6] Bude's coast faces Bude Bay in theCeltic Sea, part of theAtlantic Ocean. At the2021 census, the built-up area as defined by theOffice of National Statistics had a population of 7,350.
Its earlier importance was as a harbour, and then a source of sea sand useful for improving the inland soil. This was transported on theBude Canal. TheVictorians favoured it as a seaside resort. With new rail links, it became a popular seaside destination in the 20th century.Bradshaw's Guide of 1866, Section 2, described Bude as "a small port and picturesque village in the north-eastern extremity of Cornwall". It described the town as having the dignity of a fashionable marine resort with excellent facilities for bathers. The harbour bed consists of fine bright yellow sand consisting of small shells. "The sea view is of a striking, bold and sublime description – the rocks rising on every side to lofty broken elevations." It also describes Bude as a romantic retreat.
Bude lies just west ofStratton and north ofWidemouth Bay and is located along the A3073 road off theA39 road. The section of the A39 running through Bude is known as the Atlantic Highway.[7]
A section of Bude's coast, between Compass Cove to the south and Furzey Cove to the north, is a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) noted for itsgeological andbiological interest.[8] Part of the land designated as theBude Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest is owned by theNational Trust.[9]Carboniferoussandstone cliffs surround Bude. During theVariscan Orogeny the strata were heavily faulted and folded. As the sands and cliffs around Bude contain calcium carbonate (a natural fertiliser), farmers used to take sand from the beach, for spreading on their fields. The cliffs around Bude are the only ones in Cornwall that are made of Carboniferous sandstone, as most of the Cornish coast is formed ofDevonianslate,granite andPrecambrianmetamorphic rocks.[8] The stratified cliffs of Bude give their name to asequence of rocks called the Bude Formation. Many formations can be viewed from theSouth West Coast Path which passes through the town.
Many ships have been wrecked on the jagged reefs which fringe the base of the cliffs. The figurehead of one of these, theBencoolen, a barque whose wrecking in 1862 resulted in the drowning of most of the crew, was preserved in the churchyard but was transferred to the town museum to save it from further decay.[10][11] The aftermath of the wreck of theBencoolen was described byRobert Stephen Hawker in letters which were published in Hawker'sPoetical Works (1879).[12]
Like the rest of theBritish Isles and South West England, Bude experiences amaritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Temperature extremes at the Met Office weather station at Bude range from −11.1 °C (12.0 °F) during February 1969[13] to 36.0 °C (96.8 °F) in July 2022.[14] The Met Office recorded Bude as the sunniest place in the United Kingdom during the summer of 2013 with 783 hours of sunlight.[15]
| Climate data for Bude, elevation: 7 m (23 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1960–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1) | 17.8 (64.0) | 23.4 (74.1) | 26.1 (79.0) | 28.3 (82.9) | 32.2 (90.0) | 36.0 (96.8) | 33.4 (92.1) | 29.4 (84.9) | 25.4 (77.7) | 18.2 (64.8) | 17.2 (63.0) | 36.0 (96.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) | 9.4 (48.9) | 10.8 (51.4) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.5 (59.9) | 17.7 (63.9) | 19.3 (66.7) | 19.4 (66.9) | 18.1 (64.6) | 15.2 (59.4) | 12.3 (54.1) | 10.1 (50.2) | 14.2 (57.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.8 (44.2) | 6.7 (44.1) | 7.7 (45.9) | 9.3 (48.7) | 12.0 (53.6) | 14.4 (57.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 16.4 (61.5) | 14.8 (58.6) | 12.2 (54.0) | 9.5 (49.1) | 7.4 (45.3) | 11.1 (52.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.3 (39.7) | 3.9 (39.0) | 4.7 (40.5) | 5.9 (42.6) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 13.4 (56.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 9.3 (48.7) | 6.6 (43.9) | 4.7 (40.5) | 8.1 (46.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −10.6 (12.9) | −11.1 (12.0) | −7.8 (18.0) | −3.8 (25.2) | −2.2 (28.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | 3.9 (39.0) | 3.9 (39.0) | 0.6 (33.1) | −3.4 (25.9) | −6.1 (21.0) | −8.9 (16.0) | −11.1 (12.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 91.0 (3.58) | 73.3 (2.89) | 57.9 (2.28) | 53.3 (2.10) | 52.4 (2.06) | 59.4 (2.34) | 71.0 (2.80) | 77.7 (3.06) | 65.4 (2.57) | 97.8 (3.85) | 104.0 (4.09) | 102.4 (4.03) | 905.7 (35.66) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 15.2 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 10.3 | 10.9 | 12.3 | 11.1 | 15.0 | 17.2 | 16.4 | 152.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 61.3 | 87.7 | 129.6 | 185.8 | 220.8 | 208.2 | 198.8 | 187.1 | 160.8 | 114.1 | 69.2 | 55.5 | 1,679 |
| Source 1:Met Office[16] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Starlings Roost Weather[17] | |||||||||||||
Bude-Stratton is said to have been a settlement since the Bronze Age[18] but nothing remains of it.
Efford Manor, seat of the Arundell family of Trerice, was the only building here in the Middle Ages. Bude or Porthbud was known as Bede's Haven, the 'chapel' or 'hermitage' on the rock, Bede being the holy man who lived there, on what is now the breakwater. The original breakwater was destroyed in 1838 by a terrible storm, while the newer version was constructed in 1839. The spectacular sandstone coast here is aSite of Specific Scientific Interest, known for jagged reefs, implicated in many past shipwrecks.[19] Alongside the sea and by the canal runs the river Neet (or Strat). The two halves of the town are connected by Nanny Moore's bridge, a grade two listed building,[20] named after a 19th-century ‘dipper’ who lived nearby. Beyond this lay the quay, rebuilt in 1577 with funds from theBlanchminster charity.
The river divided the land owned by two Cornish families. South of the river was owned by Sir John Arundell, while land to the north was owned by Sir Richard Grenville of Stowe Barton, Kilkhampton. During the 1700-1800s, Bude was a thriving port used by smaller vessels. Over time, the land changed hands – the Grenville land passed to the Carterets/Thynnes while the Arundell land passed to the Aclands. Bude and neighbouring Stratton are relevant in the English Civil War, with Nanny Moore's Bridge featuring as a passe over the river for the Royalists.
Bude became popular in Victorian times for sea bathing, inspired by theRomantic movement. The ladies used Crooklets Beach while the gentlemen were segregated to Summerleaze. Workers flocked to Bude for the building of the canal, but as shipping dwindled, and the railway reached dominance, Bude concentrated on the emergent tourist trade. By 1926, there were 59 boarding houses and 5 hotels: the Falcon, Grenville, Globe, Norfolk and the Commercial.
There are a number of good beaches in the Bude area, many of which offer goodsurfing conditions and many of which are dog-friendly.[21]Bude Lifeboat Station is at Summerleaze beach.[22] Bude was the founder club in British Surf Life Saving.[citation needed]
In the 18th century there was a small unprotected tidal harbour at Bude. The Bude Canal Company built a canal and improved the harbour. Around twenty small boats use the tidal moorings of the original harbour during the summer months. Most are sport fishermen, but there is also some small-scale, semi-commercial, fishing for crab and lobster.
There is a wharf on theBude Canal about half a mile from the sea lock that links the canal to the tidal haven. This can be opened only at or near high tide, and then only when sea conditions allow.North Cornwall District Council administered the canal, harbour and lock gates until its abolition in March 2009.[23] These gates were renewed after the originals were damaged in a storm in 2008. They are the only manually operated sea lock gates in England. The pier head by the locks is a Grade IIlisted structure.
The canal is one of the few of note in southwest England. Its original purpose was to take smalltub boats of mineral-rich sand from the beaches at Bude and carry them inland for agricultural use on fields. A series ofinclined planes carried the boats over 400 vertical feet (120 m) toRed Post, where the canal branched south along the upper Tamar Valley towardsLaunceston east toHolsworthy and north to theTamar Lakes, that fed the canal. The enterprise was always in financial difficulty, but it carried considerable volumes of sand and also coal from south Wales.
The arrival of the railway at Holsworthy and the production of cheap manufactured fertiliser undermined the canal's commercial purpose, and it was closed down and sold to the district municipal water company. However the wharf area and harbour enjoyed longer success, and coastal sailing ships carried grain across to Wales and coal back to Cornwall.
Notable buildings include the parish church of St Michael and All Angels, built in 1835 and enlarged in 1876 (the architect wasGeorge Wightwick), Ebbingford Manor,[24] and the town's oldest house, Quay Cottage in the centre of town. Bude Castle was built about 1830 on sand on a concrete raft for Victorian inventor SirGoldsworthy Gurney and is now a heritage centre.[25] Gurney also invented theBude-Light.
A conical installation, also referred to as the 'Bude Light', was opened in June 2000 near Bude Castle to mark the millennium and to remember Goldsworthy Gurney, theBude-Lights' inventor. It was designed by artistCarole Vincent and Anthony Fanshawe. It has a light at its apex, and is also lit internally with fibre-optics displaying starconstellations.[26]
At the northernmost point of Efford Down Farm, overlooking Summerleaze Beach and the breakwater, a former coastguard lookout stands. Known as Compass Point and built by the Acland family in 1840 of local sandstone, it is based on theTemple of Winds in Athens. It was moved to its current position in 1880 and again in 2023 to protect it from collapse due to cliff erosion. It is so called as it has points of the compass carved in each of its octagonal sides.[27]
In 1953, Bude became home to the firstSurf Life Saving Club in the UK,[28] while the popular lidoBude Sea Pool opened in 1930. This was previously administered by Cornwall Council but lost public funding in 2010/11. The Friends of Bude Sea Pool was created in 2011 to secure its future.
In September 2018, the "Bude Tunnel", a 70-metre (80-yard)perspex walkway at the BudeSainsbury's supermarket site was mentioned in the national press after becoming the town's top-rated attraction onTripAdvisor.[29][30][31] Reviews facetiously compared the tunnel to theTaj Mahal,Hanging Gardens of Babylon andGreat Sphinx of Giza.[31]
The popularity caused TripAdvisor to temporarily suspend all reviews for the Bude Tunnel, citing a number of reviews that "do not describe a first-hand experience".[32] The tunnel continued to be the top attraction for at least four months after the suspension.[33] In December of that year, the tunnel was covered inChristmas lights.[34][33] Reviews of the tunnel were reinstated by the website in October 2023, causing another influx of positive reviews.[35]
In 2021, Bude hosted theGorsedh Kernow (a festival of Cornish culture and bardic ceremony) as it did in 1961, 1975, and 1993. The festival was scheduled to take place in 2020, but was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[36]
Local TV coverage is provided byBBC South West andITV West Country. Television signals are received from theCaradon Hill TV transmitter.[37]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Cornwall on 95.2 FM,Heart West on 105.1 FM,Greatest Hits Radio on 102.2 FM and Piran Radio, a community based radio station which broadcasts online.[38]
Bude developed its own newspaper in 1924,The Bude and Stratton Post.[39]
Progressive rock bandKing Crimson wrote a song dedicated to the town and included it as the first track on their EPHappy with What You Have to Be Happy With.
From 1879 Bude's nearest railway station was atHolsworthy, ten miles away. The railway came to Bude itself in 1898.[40] The line was built by theLondon & South Western Railway, but was incorporated into theSouthern Railway in 1923 andBritish Railways in 1948.
Bude railway station was served by theAtlantic Coast Express, providing a direct service to/fromLondon Waterloo, until it was discontinued in 1964. Bude station and the entireBude branch line closed on 1 October 1966 as part of theBeeching cuts.
Bude and neighbouring Stratton are more distant from the rail network than any other towns in England.[41] Okehampton (29 miles), Barnstaple (35 miles north east),Bodmin Parkway (32 miles south) andGunnislake (32 miles sse) are the nearestNational Rail stations with regular services.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(February 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Tourism is the main industry in the Bude area whilst some fishing is carried on. In the past, the staple trade was the export of sand, which, being highly charged withcalcium carbonate, was much used as fertiliser. There are also golf links in the town.
The Bude area is also a telecommunications hub, with majorsubsea cables landing at nearbyWidemouth Bay.[42] The eavesdropping facility known asGCHQ Bude is just north of the town inMorwenstow. It is the largest employer in the area, with over 250 civil servants and contractors employed there.
There are two tiers of local government covering Bude, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Bude–Stratton Town Council andCornwall Council. The town council is based at the Parkhouse Centre in Bude.[43]
Bude is in theNorth Cornwall parliamentary constituency which is represented byBen Maguire MP.
Bude historically formed part of theancient parish ofStratton. When district councils were established in 1894, the parish of Stratton was included in theStratton Rural District.[44] In 1900 a newurban district called "Stratton and Bude" was created from most of the parish of Stratton, including both its main settlements of Bude and Stratton, as well as theFlexbury area from the parish ofPoughill. Stratton and Bude Urban District Council therefore took over district-level functions within its area from Stratton Rural District Council.[45]
In 1934 the urban district was enlarged to take in the residual rural parts of Stratton parish and the rest of Poughill parish, including the village. At the same time, the urban district's name was changed from "Stratton and Bude" to "Bude–Stratton".[46] In 1947, Bude–Stratton Urban District Council bought Bude Castle (built 1830) to serve as its headquarters.[47][48]
Bude–Stratton Urban District was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, with district-level functions passing to the newNorth Cornwall District Council.[49][50] Asuccessor parish called Bude–Stratton was created at the same time covering the area of the abolished urban district, with its parish council taking the name Bude–Stratton Town Council.[51] North Cornwall was in turn abolished in 2009. Cornwall County Council then took on district-level functions, making it a unitary authority, and was renamed Cornwall Council.[52][53]
The town is home to a number of sports teams includingBude RFC – the town's rugby club, andBude Town – the local football club. Bude is the host town of the North Cornwall Cup, a large youth football event held every August. Bude & North Cornwall Golf Club is ideally situated within the town centre. Bude is also home to the Bude Cricket Club.
There have beenCornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, in Bude for at least a couple of centuries.[54][55] Venues for tournaments included: the Castle grounds,[56] Broadclose Hill[57] and the Football ground.[58]
See alsoCornish wrestling in Poughill.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Unitary authorities | |
|---|---|
| Major settlements (cities in italics) |
|
| Rivers | |
| Topics | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
