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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 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 Carnival - Saturday 15 August 2026
Start time 11:00am
Location: Bude Rugby Club
A day full of fun, music, food and community spirit!
Bring your family & friends and celebrate Budes biggest day of the year!
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.
