Bude is situated on the North Cornwall coast amidst miles of sandy coast line in either direction. Each beach has its own individual character from Widemouth Bay, one of the world’s most famous surfing beaches with its vast expanse of open sand, through to Summerleaze with its famous Sea Pool and many attractive rock pools.
Child-friendly beaches
You will be spoilt for choice with Bude’s lovely sandy beaches, which are well served with local cafes and toilets. Most of the beaches slope down very gradually with shallow waters for paddling and the larger beaches are lifeguard protected from Easter until the end of September. The Sea Pool at Summerleaze is a part natural, part manmade sea pool and is a great environment especially for children, to experience sea swimming without the concern of the tides and currents.
Surfing beaches
Several of the local beaches offer water sports instruction and equipment hire. Surfing and body boarding is especially popular at Summerleaze Beach with Scott and the team at Bude Surfing Experience or at the world famous Widemouth Bay, a couple of miles south, which has a number of excellent surf instructors, such as Freewave Surf Academy
Outdoor Adventure also offers Surf Lessons from Widemouth Bay daily.
Dog-friendly beaches
There are several local beaches which have few or no restrictions for dogs, including Black Rock at the south end of Widemouth Bay and Northcott Mouth. Some beaches allow dogs but with restrictions, for example, that they need to be kept on a lead or are only allowed on the beach at certain times of the day or the year.
Here’s a useful summary of the local Dog-Friendly beaches for you to download.
DOWNLOAD PDFNational Trust beaches
The coastline going north from Bude is spectacular with an extremely interesting geology of sheer cliffs made of stony clay rock, providing a dramatic back drop to the shoreline.
There are several charming and “typically Cornish” coves along this stretch such as Duckpool and the National Trust beach, Sandymouth.
More info:
Check out the local tide time tables for Bude area
Here’s a useful Cornish beach guide with more information on the individual beaches
