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Bude
Image by Matt Jessop - supplied by Visit Cornwall
Bude is Cornwall's most northern town and has been a popular seaside resort from Victorian times. In the l9th Century, the town was notorious for wreckers who plundered ship wrecked off the coast - over 80 vessels in the fifty year up to 1874.
Present-day Bude is a pleasant small town with character. It has two beaches with excellent broad sands close to the town itself, and is a good centre for adjacent beaches. Its sea front faces west and the Atlantic rollers make for good surfing when conditions are right. The main access road in and out of Bude is the Atlantic Highway (A39)
Notable buildings include the Perpendicular parish church (St Olaf's) in the village of Poughill just outside of Bude, the parish church of St Michael and All Angels (built in 1835 and enlarged in 1876; the architect was George Wightwick), Ebbingford Manor, and the town's oldest house, Quay Cottage in the centre of town. Bude Castle was built about 1830 for Victorian inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney and is now a heritage centre.
Upcoming Events
Bude Spring Food Festival - Monday 06 April 2026
Bude Food Festival combining an Artisan Food Market with a selection of Street Foods, will be held in the beautiful setting of The Castle grounds on Monday 6th April.
Bringing you a selection of wonderful food, everything from locally reared sausages, freshly baked bread and cakes to sumptuous jam and sauces, and if you fancy a tipple try a flavoured gin, local beer or cider.
Black Rock Surf Kayak Festival - Saturday 25 April 2026 to Sunday 26 April 2026
Start Time
Registrations start at 8 am, first heat starts at 9.30 am
Location
Black Rock, Widemouth Bay, Bude
Entry Price
BlackRock Surf Saturday £35, BlackRock Surf Sunday Categories £25
Every April since 2002 we’ve run the Back Rock Surf Kayak Festival.
On Saturday, we’ll run the Shoreline Handicapped Surf Kayak Classic. You answer a few questions to establish your surf kayaking handicap and then compete in a fair way against everyone else. There’s no knockout, so paddlers of all abilities will compete throughout the day. This system also allows competitors to gain ranking points in the Short Boat Open category. Most types of craft can be used, but please have a look at the details below to be sure.
On Sunday, we’ll run another full day of surfing events, this time focusing on all the separate categories of surfing. This will include various categories of Long Boat, Short Boat, and Waveski surfing.
We’ll announce details on Saturday as to any evening event or meal that we have organised.
Entries must be received in advance.
Bude Junior Triathlon - Saturday 06 June 2026
Start Time
Register from 9 am, Briefing at 10 am, Start at 10.30 am
Location
Summerleaze Downs and Bude Sea Pool, Bude, Cornwall
Entry Price
Individual £20 Relay £45
Every June since 2009 we've run the Shoreline Junior Triathlon from Summerleaze Downs in Bude. This completely off-road event provides an opportunity for young athletes to come and have a go at triathlon with the hope that as they get older they will be attracted to having a go at our main Shoreline Triathlon. The race is organised in school year categories rather than dates of birth to allow children to race against their school friends and colleagues who they are familiar with.
Summerleaze Downs, owned by the Town Council is an open grassy public area right next to the beaches. Each year the council kindly lifts it's cycling ban to allow the race to take place. The swim is in the adjoining Summerleaze Sea Pool - an amazing 100m long open seawater pool with different distances for various year groups - years 4 and 5 swim one length, years 6 and 7 swim 2 lengths and years 8 and 9 swim 3 lengths. The cycle comprises of 2 laps around the Downs (approx 2 miles) with the run being just one lap (approx 1 mile).
The event is run with a friendly atmosphere. There are loads of categories and trophies for individual boys and girls and relay teams. Categories cover year groups from year 4 through to year 9
Shoreline Triathlon - Sunday 21 June 2026
Every late June / early July since 1991 we've run the Shoreline Triathlon from Summerleaze Beach in Bude. The event has always been a huge success with a complete cross-section of competitors from absolute beginners and first-time triathletes right through to national team athletes.
When designing this race we just looked at what Bude had to offer. The high tide bay at Summerleaze with the breakwater sheltering it from the Atlantic swell was always going to be perfect for the open water swim. The coast road out of Bude towards Widemouth Bay is both fast and hilly and with a return to Bude via the A39 it's a natural loop. The run through town and then along the canal towpath returning via Lynstone Road produces a grand finish along the Strand and then up the length of Summerleaze Car Park. Add to this a friendly atmosphere, great event T-shirts, medals for all finishers, plenty of categories and our own unique commentator and you have an event you'll want to come back to year after year.
The fastest athletes will take around an hour to complete the course with everyone finished within 2 hours.
For more information and to book your place visit website here.
Bude Summer Food Festival - Sunday 09 August 2026
Bude Food Festival combining an Artisan Food Market with a selection of street foods, is held in the beautiful setting of The Castle grounds Bude. There will be a selection of wonderful food, everything from locally reared sausages, freshly baked bread and cakes to sumptuous jams and sauces, and if you fancy a tipple try a flavoured gin, local beer or cider.
Check out the website for more information.
Bude RNLI Lifeboat Day - Monday 31 August 2026
The event will feature fundraising, entertainment, and activities organised by the Bude RNLI to support its volunteeer crews. The celebration marks 60 years since the Bude RNLI station reopened in 1966.
Cornish Nutcracker Endurance Cycle Hillclimb - Sunday 18 October 2026
Next Event
Sunday 18 October 2026
Start Time
Registration from 8 am, briefing at 9 am and first cyclist away at 10 am
Location
Registration and Prize Giving - Bude Surf Life Saving Club, Crooklets Beach, Bude
Entry Price
Individual £29
The coastal roads between Bude and Boscastle climb and drop over some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the UK. As there’s no way for these roads to avoid the valleys and summits they simply go straight up and over creating one climb after another. Steep and sustained with gradients of up to 30% cycling these roads is a challenge to any cyclist. And yet if you live in North Cornwall this has always been the place to test yourself.
For years we’ve wanted to create a cycling event between Bude and Boscastle but with the descents being so steep and narrow we’ve backed away. The solution, obvious when we thought of it, is to just time the uphill stages so creating a series of one-after-another Hill Climbs.
The route starts in Bude and follows the coastal road to Widemouth Bay. Follow the road along to the Widemouth Manor and on the summit corner take a sharp right onto the narrow coastal road through Wanson and onto Millook with its 30% gradients. Continue until you meet and take the road down to Crackington Haven. Past the Pubs and cafes at the bottom and just as you start up the other side of Crackington you’ll need to take a sudden narrow turn off on your right to High Cliff. This roller coaster road will bring you up to the Boscastle road which you’ll need to cycle down before turning at the bottom and returning to Bude by just about the same route (the only exception being avoiding the High Cliff road on the way back to Crackington Haven).
The aim is to cycle the route continuously, with no deviations, only stopping for the timekeepers when required and to be the fastest accumulated hill climber over the whole course.
