Is it worth visiting Bude? A circular walk around Bude and Bude Canal
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.พ. 2023
- Join us as we walk along the vast, beautiful beach on a crisp, sunny day in February.
Did you know that there is a half tide marker in a cluster of rocks to aid navigation into the harbour? Did you know that the beach is up to a mile wide at low water? Did you know that it is rumoured the Atlantic Rollers can be heard for 10 miles?
The harbour at Bude is fascinating. At the entrance of the harbour is a pair of lock gates that are open at high tide to allow boats in and out. The lock gates give a big clue as to the purpose of the harbour and beyond. It is actually the start of Bude Canal which was completed in 1825 to carry sand from the beach to fertilise the farmlands in the area.
We follow the first part of the Canal using the tow path which has been beautifully restored. Only the first couple of miles of the Canal is still in existence, with two working lock gates. There are some architectural features at the end of this first stretch where an inclined plane was used to lift tub boats to the next passage of water.
Join us as we explore the remnants of the former industrial innovation that was revolutionary at the time.
The standard description bit…
We are Sarah and Andrew and we film our walks around Cornwall and publish on TH-cam, usually weekly. Sometimes we stay in accommodation in Cornwall and upload our vlog. Sarah is fascinated by sea glass and likes to collect it so there may be the occasional sea glass video too. The channel is a hobby and we both have normal day jobs!
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My mum and dad live in Bude. One of my ancestors was awarded a Silver medal in 1858 for saving lives as a Coastguard in Bude.
How interesting! Fabulous beach but I bet the tide races in quickly with some interesting rip currents! Sarah:)
Love this huge beach. The doggies were adorable running on the sand. Love this video.
Thanks I was in Bude today but learnt a lot, lovely exploration. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it, Sarah :)
I've kayaked kp the canal as far as you can. Way past the weir, eventually the canal forks left fork ends up in a stream about an inch deep.
The right fork carries on like a small river in size but depth reduces I gave up eventually just got too shallow.
Was hoping it went a great distance as I see boats in the section above the lock
Years ago the locks failed and the water from the canal was lost onto the beach along either all the fish.
I'll watch the video tomorrow.
Love watching your videos we love cornwall and visited so many of the places you've been to.
Padstow is our second home right on the start of the Camel trail.
We've made some fantastic friends down there in the Harbour and town.
We love it
Kev the Brinklow kayaker😊
Hello Sarah & Andrew,the first bridge across the canal(green bridge) is called Rodds Bridge.We use to holiday in a cottage there for many years.Did you notice the big thatched farm house near Rodds Bridge.
Dont forget Morwenstow one day.
The smallest NT property on the high cliffs.Its where the vicar Stephen Hawker use to sit & write his poetry & smoked his opium.
It was him who started the Harvest Festival.The Bude museum has information & belongings of his.
Best Wishes Christine Duke.
Yes definitely this, Morwenstow is fascinating, a great wzlk
We have been there, ages ago and Andrew loves the story of Hawker so we must do it before we end the channel!!! Sarah :)
Glad you made it to Bude, for a truly Epic walk, take the coastal path from Bude to Widemouth Bay, honestly one of the most breathtaking walks in the UK.
I’m sure we will be back! Sarah :)
I think the most astonishing thing about this vid is the fact that you have never been to Bude!!! Ha! 😮It's fab up there isn't it, but a long drive up from where you are down South. If you do an overnight you could venture a little bit further up the coast and go to Morwenstow with Hawker's Hut & possibly call into the Gnome Sanctuary! Love North Cornwall. Fascinating info about the tug boats and actually I think the Heron was real...they are amazingly statuesque and often surprise you by suddenly flying off. We have a large Heronry down here near me in Kent. Looks like you enjoyed your excursion up to a beautiful part of your County & glorious sunshine🌞 as well. x J x
Must say that I have never been so close to a Heron! His feathers were ruffling gently in the breeze so he could have been real! Sarah :)
New puppy is getting big.
Yeh, almost fully grown now! I think it’s a lot of fluff though! Sarah :)
Hi 👋 I live in Marhamchurch, knock on next time you’re around and I’ll put the kettle on. Great video 😊👍
@@deelatham5080 Wonderful! Sarah :D
I went to Bude in 1957 on a coach trip, Bude and Clovelly it was. We only stopped for a lunch in Bude and didn't get to see much from memory. Nice to see it properly now and I didn't know about the canal. The heron (old nog as he's known in parts) I do believe was real and surprised you did get so close to him. They can stay motionless for ages.
He was incredible thinking back on it, perhaps he was real, Sarah :)
Bude is a corner of Cornwall (feels more like Devon to me) that I don't know very well even though my mother was born there and spent her childhood with her grandparents who retired there. I remember going into the castle with my son (Jago) when we stayed in Bude for a couple of nights to scatter my grandmother's ashes at Northcott Mouth where she met her husband (whose ashes we scattered there years before) when she fell off her horse during the hunt and he came out of his parents bungalow there and saved her. At the time she had been trying to impress the 'lord of the manor's son who she ended up marrying 45 years later after her first husband (my grandfather) had died. The castle 10 years ago had an amazing museum inside that had a model of the canal and chain pulleys.
Another fabulous video. Beautiful walk. Thank you so much.
Good morning Sarah and Andrew and thank you for this beautiful and interesting video from Bude. We stayed there one night at the lovely Brendon Arms in July 2017, but we were pretty exhausted after all the deep valleys from Morwenstow so we just had a short and gentle stroll to take a look at the barges and the lock. Great to get a bit more knowledge about the area. And they really had some good engineers and nifty solutions back in the day. Thank you 🥰
I agree, very clever engineering back then! Sarah :)
Hi Sarah and Andrew. I loved your canal walk today seeing the different wild birds and hearing about the history on the way. So peaceful and relaxing.. Next time I am down your way I must take a trip to Bude.
Thankyou both again for a lovely video.
I agree, Bude is a very interesting place, been there twice. Thanks for reminding me of how lovely it is, must visit it again soon. Cheers Bob
We LOVE it !
👍👍💚💚
We watched this last night with great interest as we are having a short break in Bude over Easter. It has now made us feel as though we have made a good choice of destination - the walk by the Canal is super flat with plenty of seating . Your walking channel is full of useful information and such good entertainment - It is a joy to watch-loved your scarf and hat Sarah -
Enjoy! Sarah :)
Went there years ago, remember the huge beach. Anothey lovely interesting video, thank you both & doggies 😊
You’re welcome! Sarah :)
Nice video. Whenever we are in the area we always pop in on the Barge Resturant on the canal there- has become a fixture for some reason.Bikers often do rideouts to Bude.
Hi Sarah and Andrew, even though we live in mid Cornwall...we have stayed just up the road at Widemouth Bay a few times and our absolute favourite place to walk is the canal and had lovely food at The Weir Bistro at the end of the canal path..just opposite Marhamchurch... recommend it for a bite to eat 👌😋. There is also a lovely circular walk which takes in the coast and the canal... I think you can get this in the visitors centre at the car park in Bude. I hadn't a clue about the tub boats...how fascinating was that. You always come up with such interesting history's of an area ✊😁💝. I wonder if the heron was real 😂. Oh, and just wanted to say how lovely it was to see your gorgeous pooches having the time of their lives on that beach 🐾🐾.. priceless 🙏😘
Thank you for your wonderful comment! Doggies say woof! Sarah :)
Brilliant
Excellent walk indeed! Loved it….all the special details you pointed out too…and i did like calming waters along the way…be well…😊Ana 🌹
Definitely a video full of wonderful water! Sarah :)
What an excellent video. My wife and I have never been to Bude preferring to go further south and west in Cornwall, but what lovely place it is. I am looking forward to your next video of Bude. You are both very blessed to live in Cornwall. Thank you Andrew and Sarah for yet another very enjoyable video. Take care.
We are also looking forward to our next video in Bude! We had a great day! Sarah :)
Goodness youve positively travelled up north for this episode.
Bude is beautiful mainly cos you can see the coast of Devon from there 😂😂
Great video again guys.
Nearly needed our passports!!! Sarah :)
Hi Sarah and Andrew. I loved
A brilliant vid guys, Been to Bude sometime back with our kids when they were young but did not see how far the canal went on for, you have wet our appetite for another visit as there looks to be so much more to explore, hope you can manage an overnight for an extended walk. Keep them coming guys we love your vid each week ,,,,,,,Brian&Jane
Yes, I think we could have walked further, the next stop was Marhamchurch. Sarah :)
Glad to see (hear) the bad jokes are back but I did not understand the one about the friend who lived in a sand castle and had terets.
Ahhh! A castle has turrets? No? We will try harder next time, Sarah:)
So glad you finally made it to Bude. Yes ,it's almost in Devon ,so much so that it has an Exeter postcode! The vast expanse of beach at low tide reminds me of Weston -super- mare, but without the mud 😄I noticed you walked past the Bude light, near the castle. It is an art installation, best seen at night as it displays the various zodiac constellations around its base. Also worth a mention is the now infamous Bude tunnel, or Sainsburys entrance to the uninitiated. An informative walk as usual.
The Bude Tunnel made it on our local news!! Sarah :)
Glad to know how to pronounce "Bude" now. Definitely want to see more of that wonderful beach. The harbor looks fairly shallow, so the tide markers must have been vital. I love that England has so many rivers and canals, which were used for commerce back in the day. The underpass with the railing looks familiar (from an episode of Endeavor?), but perhaps those locations are common. The canal operation is fascinating, and the waterwheel would have very economical, without the cost of running draft horses day in and day out. The short days are getting a bit longer, but winter is still here with a vengence; lots of cold rain and hail, and snow in our local mountains, as well as a bit north in Palm Springs and Los Angeles. Snow above the Hollywood sign! After so many dry, warm winters, this is news, lol!
It's a lovely walk to do. We have also walked along the beach to Northcott Beach and beyond to the next beach which has a NT tearoom and back along coast path - we camped near Northcott. There is a wreck to see on the beach with living coral on it.
PS there is also a good pasty shop in the town
Oooo! Sounds perfect! I will add to the list! Sarah :)
I didn’t know the history surrounding beautiful Bude, I learn something fascinating every time from your amazing video’s, I see Velcro puppy 🐶 is living up his name, he sticks like glue to his big brother, I bet he takes some grooming after rummaging through the hedgerows as well, his enthusiasm is endless, a bit like Andrew with his quick fire responses to your observations Sarah, there is a Herron on the stream where I live, he looks like a sculpture even at close range he never moves, he’s either playing dead or thinks he’s blending into the back ground which he is because you can’t see him until he moves, clever tactic when your hunting for fish for your breakfast 😅 love the interesting canal walk on such a beautiful day, thanks 🙏 for sharing with us again both of you 🤗
Yes, puppy take a bit of grooming! And fascinating birds, I would have liked to see if it moved! Sarah :)
@@CornishWalkingTrails I’m sure if you go that way again Sarah, you will see him moving, my neighbour used to have a small pond with fish in it, it was covered with netting but the same Herron would stand still for ages staring at them, at first I was convinced it was a sculpture until it moved ever so slowly, I haven’t been down to the stream since I had covid a year ago, I’m wondering if it’s still there. 😊
Such an interesting video. I learned so much. I usually wander around the beach and along the coast path a little when I visit Bude, and don't venture too far along the canal. I've not visited for a year or two so you've inspired me to make more of an effort to get back there again. Looking forward to seeing how you get on in your return trip too.
We really enjoyed the canal walk, still not sure about the heron! Sarah :)
Bude is beautiful when I go there I stay at Wooda Farm so anybody want to do a days coarse fishing if your staying on the farm there’s a lake there or the Bude canal .
I lived in Bude for three years, and still regard it as my foreign posting - felt more a foreigner there than did when on a foreign posting. It wasn’t an easy place to live. It’s definitely a marmite place - folk love it or loathe it. It is lovely in the summer, but so isolated in winter. It really can feel very isolated.
The nearest decent hospital is Barnstaple, 30 plus miles away, or more usually we’d be sent to Freedom Fields, in Plymouth, 50 miles away.
The tides can be lethal and very strong, and like them all on that coast, come in really fast. I remember a friend on her charger of a huge horse ( built like a tank) trying to save a couple of folks in trouble just off the beach. She had a really strong horse, tried desperately to save them by riding out to them, they were so close - only just out of reach - and even on her horse she couldn’t reach them and saw them drown in front of her.
We were warned not to use the open air pool if there hadn’t been a recent high tide, as in summer if it’s not been washed by the tide it can have some nasty bugs in the water. Not sure if that’s true, but the advice came from a medic so we followed it.
I loved it for the few weeks of summer, but the rest of the year just found it too isolated. You had to travel so far just to get to a decent shopping centre. All too often folks who’d holidayed there for years would retire to a bungalow there. Within a short time one would die, and the other couldn’t cope with the isolation, would sell up, and move back to their place of origin.
A very interesting video. Thank you.
Thank you gif your interesting comment, all too true especially down west! Sarah :)
Wow, I bet you’re fun at parties ! 🎉😂
@@deelatham5080 absolutely! Life and soul - in any of the 44 places I’ve lived at! But Bude was definitely a Marmite place - folks loved it or loathed it. Great in the summer, but oh so tough in the winter.
Great video (as always, guys)! It's good to see you up our neck of the woods. Bude is a fascinating place - so many different aspects to it: the canal, the river, the breakwater, the surf life saving club (first in the UK!) plus the RNLI Lifeboat Station station*. The beach at low tide is beautiful, particularly in Winter around 3-4pm when the beach and sea throw up some beautiful colours (if the sun's shining). The walk along the beach, from Bude towards Sandymouth, (if you time the tide correctly) is absolutely stunning, and well worth squeezing into a busy schedule. Also recommend a quick drive up the road to Morwenstow: beautiful church and a short walk to Hawker's Hut - built by Robert Stephen Hawker, a priest, poet and eccentric known as Parson Hawker. It is set into the cliff edge and within 100 metres of Higher Sharpnose Point - a long, narrow and breathtaking headland with amazing views. So much more to recommend but I'll leave it there for now. Take care.
*the old building at 9:05 is the old lifeboat station, built by Sir Thomas Acland in 1863
My grandmother (who grew up there in 1930-40's) told me stories about the surfing and life saving club and how Australians came to learn from them. Hawker is facinating, I knew The Song of the Western Men but it was only after I dated one of his decendants that I learnt more about him. I'd love to see a walk to his hut and maybe the graves of the shipwreked saliors he buried as it is something I hope to do one day.
LOVE the Doggies on the beach, having a great time,,,Just wondering, you must go through a lot of walking shoes,,,,,,, what sort of footwear do u recommend ? 🦘🦘🐨🐨
I have had the same boots for 16 years but I will need new ones soon! Sarah :)
There is a Goldsworthy Gurney way in Wadebridge. I think he was responsible for the installation of gas lighting in the houses of parliament, as if there wasn't enough has there in the first place.
He's a fascinating character and brilliant inventor from what I recall. You're right the gurney lamps were used in London and the museum in Bude is definitely worth a visit. Payment is a voluntary contribution last time I went so cheap as well 😂
Just read him up on Wikipedia, as you say great guy.
I haven't ever had a proper look around Bude either.