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Bude.....for a traditional bucket
and spade holiday in Cornwall...picnics on the beach ...
homemade sandwiches & flasks... or delicious hot pasties.
Sandy beaches perfect for
toddlers - jumping the waves or splashing around
in the large rock pools warmed by the sun all day....
Endless fun surfing or body boarding
on North Atlantic waves on an incoming tide...
Miles of wide beaches to stroll along
exploring rock pools... maybe ending up
at the next bay, stopping for a cream tea, or ice cream,
before wandering back along the headland with far
reaching views along the coast and across to Lundy Island.
If this the sort of holiday you remember from your
childhood and want your own children to enjoy the simple
pleasures of a beach holiday - then you'll enjoy a holiday
in Blackberry or Bramblewood Cottages.
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Crooklets Beach, Bude
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Duckpool Beach
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This part of north Cornwall offers
peaceful surroundings - perfect for relaxing holidays, away from the traffic and congestion
of home.
From Duckpool in the north to Widemouth Bay in the south, there are beaches to suit all tastes - broad stretches of sand for sunbathing and making sand castles, surfing on Crooklets or exploring rock pools at Northcott Mouth.
Bude is unusual in having an open air swimming pool, washed twice daily by the tide,
but there's also an indoor leisure pool with wave machine and slide
in town - very popular with young children.
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Bude's many unspoilt sandy beaches are patrolled by life guards in the high season. For
surfers and body-boarders the
beaches are ideal and even young children become experts over the course of a
week's holiday at one of our cottages!
The
two town beaches of Summerleaze and Crooklets are good for families - each with a cafe,
toilets and showers. There are
also the National Trust beaches of Northcott Mouth (one mile
north, parking 50p for non NT members all day), and Sandymouth (another mile or
so north
with parking £2.50 all day for non NT members), joining with the town beaches at low tide
to provide 2½ miles of un-crowded golden sand to walk, play and explore the numerous
rock pools full of fish, crabs and shrimps. Another couple of miles further
north is Duckpool, which at low tide opens out to a wide sandy bay. The
coastal path which runs along this stretch provides some
breath-taking views.
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The south west coastal path at Bude |
Bude is full of interesting shops
& restaurants
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Bude offers locally caught fish both in traditional fishmongers, fish and chip
shops and in many of the local restaurants that specialize in local seafood. So
whether you want to prepare a sumptuous meal in one of our well
equipped kitchens, grab a quick take-away or dine out in style, you'll be well
catered for in Bude. There are several Cornish Pasty specialists who bake a variety of
delicious Cornish pasties on the premises, and it's difficult to walk
past without buying one for lunch!
Bude provides great surfing beaches, and so there are many shops catering for
the serious surfers as well as holiday makers taking up body boarding for the
first time, and wanting reasonably priced wet suits and boards.
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over the Devon border is the unique village of Clovelly, and the stunning craggy
cliffs at Hartland. Within about half an hour's drive are other major
attractions - the Arthurian centre at Tintagel, charming Boscastle with its
harbour, the fishing
port of Padstow, and historic Launceston with it's mediaeval castle.
For the sports-minded the area offers tennis, squash, golfing, canoeing, surfing, windsurfing, rock climbing, abseiling, mountain-biking, sailing, archery, ten pin bowling and fishing.
There are three adventure centres in Bude, offering tuition
in many of these sports, which can be booked for an odd
morning or afternoon while you are on holiday. Bude's 18 hole golf
course has one of the finest links in the South West.
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Clovelly - to the north
(catch day trips to see puffins at Lundy Island from
here) |
Boscastle is to the south
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Fishermen are well catered for with coarse fishing from the Canal towpath in Bude and sea and game fishing locally. There are
riding stables nearby which provide trekking along the
cliff-tops and beach according to season and tide times. For cycling enthusiasts the Tarka Trail in Barnstaple and the Camel Trail in Camelford both offer cycle rides on flat ground enjoying superb views - a great way to get fit and see the
countryside! |
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Bude has many cafes and tea shops -some with breathtaking views
over the beach and breakwater. A great place to have enjoy lunch
or an afternoon cornish cream tea!
The canal offers peaceful walks, within a nature reserve, or
you can hire a rowing boat and take a picnic lunch to enjoy in
tranquil surroundings. At the end of the canal there is a
wonderful walk over the cliff top and out along the breakwater to
the barrel rock at
low tide. Bude castle gardens and the Bude Light are also close
by, and provide perfect surroundings for children to unwind, or
enjoy an ice-cream, while you sample another cream tea..... (they
aren't fattening if you eat them quickly!)
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The Bude Light - in front of the Bude Castle
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Northcott Mouth National Trust beach
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For garden lovers Cornwall's mild climate means that there is an abundance of lovely gardens to visit. In April and May Cornwall plays host to a garden festival with more than 70 mature gardens opening their gates. Then there are all year round gardens - from St. Michael's Mount in Mount's Bay, Trebah on the Helford River, the Lost Gardens of Heligan near Mevagissey, Trelissick near Truro, Tresco on the Scilly Isles or the amazing tropical biomes of the Eden Project at St Austell. You will find it difficult to visit them all in one holiday. |
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Even in Winter you can't keep the children off the beach! Northcott Mouth
(pictured above) is great for making dams, diverting
streams and then just before its time to go back to the cottage for a swim in
the indoor pool, breaking the dam walls and letting the water flood out. Endless
fun (and the children sometimes join in too)!
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Digging channels on Northcott beach in
October
- great fun at any time of year !
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Summerleaze Beach,
Bude looking out to the Barrel Rock
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Once discovered families return again and again to this unspoilt and un-commercialised part of the country.
Indeed 30% of our bookings come from previous guests and recommendations. We hope that we have given you a flavour of
this unspoilt area of North Cornwall; if you'd like any further information,
then please call or email
your enquiry
- you won't be disappointed! |
