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Located in the very north of Cornwall, nearly on the Cornwall/Devon border is the beautiful area of Bude. Because of its location Bude has the highest spring tides in Cornwall, which means that the appearance of the coastline can alter in a matter of minutes. There are a number of award winning beaches within a few miles of Bude which cater for a range of tastes and stretch for an impressive three miles. The main beaches in the area have full lifeguard support during the summer season but it is still unwise to enter the sea at low tide due to currents.

Summerleaze Beach – Bude, Cornwall

Being the nearest beach to the town centre, Summerleaze beach can get busy during the summer months with both surfers and families. The beach is surrounded by dunes on one side and the town’s canal on the other. The beach has a wide expanse of good fine sand at low tide. It is advisable to use the sea water swimming pool rather than the sea due to the currents. There is a tannoy system in operation to warn and inform users of the dangers present around the area. There is parking available in the nearby Summerleaze car park.

Crooklets Beach – Bude, Cornwall

At low tide the beach stretches from Summerleaze beach to Northcott mouth and is very popular with beginners and intermediate surfers alike. The further north you head during the summer months the more space you will find on both the beach and in the sea. Way back in 1953 the beach was home to Britain’s first life saving club and as such is sometimes referred to as the ‘Bondi of Britain’. At the rear of the beach are a set of beach huts which have recently caused a stir with locals due to their run down state.

Sandymouth Beach – Bude, Cornwall

The beach and local car park are owned by the National Trust and has some spectacular cliff and rock formations including good rock pools for young children to explore. The actual beach is made up from both pebbles and a good expanse of sand which gets exposed at low tide. The beach is popular with both local surfers and holiday makers and is accessed via a fairly steep slope from the car park. There is a cafe/restaurant and a local shop which become popular during the summer months.

Widemouth Bay Beach – Bude, Cornwall

With over two miles of open sand at low tide the beach is very popular with families and with its spectacular waves, also with surfers. The beach has a good supply of rock formations which at low tide displays a fantastic selection of rock pool to explore. During the winter months due to its exposure to the elements the beach can get very wild with some amazing waves. There is a big car park with over 300 spaces and a range of facilities including shops and food outlets. Somewhere underneath the sand is buried the Trans-Atlantic hotline which connects Downing Street to the Whitehouse, so be careful with your bucket and spades.

Crackington Haven Beach – Bude, Cornwall

Located in a lovely small cove with daunting cliffs over 400ft high, Crackington Haven beach is made up of a mixture of shingle, pebbles and sand. At low tide there are a number of rock pools to explore in this under used beach to the south of Bude. For the size of the beach it has some good facilities, a couple of cafes, a shop, pub and even a surf hire shop. From the top of the nearby cliffs there are some amazing views with Boscastle visible in the distance.

Beaches In Cornwall

Please select a place blow to get information on the beaches in that place.

Bude Area :- Summerleaze Beach  Crooklets Beach  Sandymouth Beach   Widemouth Bay Beach  Crackington Haven Beach

Coverack Beach

Gwithian and Godrevy

Kennack Sands

Kynance Cove

Newquay :- Fistral Beach   Lusty Glaze   Towan Beach   Tolcarne Beach   Watergate Bay   Great Western  Holywell Bay   Porth Beach

Perranporth Beach

Praa Sands Beach

Portreath Beach

Porthtowan Beach

St Ives :- Porthmeor beach   Porthgwidden Beach   Porthminster Beach   The Harbour Beach

Castles In Cornwall

Pendennis Castle Falmouth Pendennis Castle was constructed around 1540 when the threat from the Spanish was of great concern to Henry VIII. He reinforced the whole of the South coast and in addition to Pendennis, he built St. Mawes castle to flank the mouth of the River Fal.

Restormel Castle Baldwin Fitz Turstin, Sheriff of Cornwall, built the original castle around 1100 AD although it was no more than a timber palisade. The present stone castle was probably built by Robert de Cardiman in about 1200. Today Restormel belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall as in 1337 the castle was given to Edward, The Black Prince, the first Duke of Cornwall who is reported to have held court there on at least two occasions.

St Mawes Castle Falmouth St Mawes Castle benefits from a wonderful waterside setting and is one of the most intact examples of Henry VIII’s coastal fortresses. Henry built St Mawes between 1539 and 1545 and, in conjunction with Pendennis Castle it was intended to protect the Fal estuary from invasion by the Spanish.

Launceston Castle Before the Thirteenth Century Launceston was called Dunheved and even today many of the streets and buildings still bear this name…..

Tintagel Castle Romantic stories linking Tintagel Castle to the Round Table, knights and chivalry are exciting and magical but little is based on historical fact. The first link to the legend was in 1130 when Geoffrey de Monmouth published the ‘History of Britain’ and claimed that Tintagel was the birthplace of King Arthur.

Sport in Cornwall

Rugby

Rugby in Cornwall

Penzance & Newyn Rugby Football Club

Redruth Rugby Football Club

Camborne Rugby Football Club

Tin Mining in Cornwall

Click below for more information on individual mines:-

Basset Mines
Geevor
South Wheal Frances
Wheal Prosper
Wheal Trewavas
Great Work
Killifreth
Ding Dong Mines
Botallack

The extraction of tin in Cornwall dates back to the Bronze Age, tin was necessary to early man as it is one of the principle components of bronze. An early method of obtaining tin was from the washed gravel taken from streams or dug from shallow deposits known as ‘open pits’. Underground mining for tin is thought to have started in the Sixteenth Century in the St. Just area, whereas copper was not mined on a large scale until the later part of the Eighteenth Century. Other minerals extracted from the mines in Cornwall included arsenic, lead, zinc, wolfram, silver, nickel, cobalt, bismuth, ochre, sulphur and fluorspar.

At its peak thousands of men and even boys were employed in the mines of Cornwall, but the ‘rich pickings’ from abroad resulted in a steep decline. 1874 -76 saw a dramatic closure of mines D.B. Barton in “A History of Tin Mining and Smelting in Cornwall” published in 1967 reported that “132 mines were abandoned out of 230 in this three year collapse , leaving 98 working in 1877”. It was estimated that as many as three thousand miners a year emigrated to ‘seek their fortune’ in the gold mines of California or copper mines of Australia. ‘Cousin Jacks’ could be found down every deep hole in the world. An old saying is that “a mine is a hole in the ground with a Cornishman at the bottom.” The Australian outback town of Burra shows its Cornish ancestry, it has a street called Camborne and even a Redruth gaol.

Today the only interest in Cornish mining appears to be in visitor or heritage attractions like those located at Geevor, Poldark, Pool or Tolgus Tin and the cycle routes etc. likeThe Great Flat Lode near Carn Brea.

The Western Morning News reported on the 18th June 2004 that the bid continues to get Cornwall and West Devon’s former mines World Heritage status in an attempt to push forward the economies of the area. Apparently it is felt that the first thing an international tourist will look for is World Heritage sites.