Bude is a seaside town on the north coast of Cornwall, where the river Neet reaches the Atlantic. In Kernewek it is Porthbud. The cliffs here are made of Carboniferous sandstone, the only cliffs of that rock on the Cornish coast, and they have been both the town's shelter and its hazard: many ships have been wrecked on the reefs below, going down within sight of the shore.
The canal and the pool
In 1823 the Bude Canal opened, built to carry sand from the beaches inland as fertiliser for fields, with tub boats hauled over inclined planes. The sea pool on Summerleaze Beach opened in 1930, and it is still a tidal lido: the sea fills it, the sea empties it, and the swimming goes on in all weathers.
The coast
The South West Coast Path runs through the town, along cliff tops that change colour with the light. One of the wrecks below, the Bencoolen, went down here in 1862, and the coast has never stopped arguing with the sea about who owns the shore.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-10-11