Life’s a Beach – Bude to Trebarwith
Summerleaze. Located within walking distance of Bude town centre Summerleaze is a popular beach where the extensive sands in every direction mean at anything except high tide it is unlikely to feel crowded. It’s also an interesting beach with a small harbour and the mouth of the Bude canal with its massive lock gates. On the opposite side of the beach there’s a sea-water bathing pool making for safe bathing whatever the conditions.
Widemouth. The beach at Widemouth Bay is a wide expanse of open sand stretching nearly two miles. It’s only three miles from Bude and is great for surfing and body-boarding. Widemouth Bay has lifeguards during the summer months; so whilst swimming stay safe and observe the flags. To the southern end of the beach the foreshore becomes increasingly rocky. This is great news for rock pooling and at lower tides there is no shortage of marine life to be discovered here.
Crackington Haven. Set between imposing cliffs at the end of a narrow valley and backing right onto the village is Crackington Haven beach. As the name suggests the beach offers shelter, and in fact in the 19th century it was used as a harbour of sorts with boats simply parking on the beach. The beach itself is mostly shingle with a small sandy spit. It is sheltered from the wind by the adjacent 400 ft high cliffs which go on to form some of the highest in Cornwall.
The Strangles beach is located close to nearby High Cliff which is the highest cliff in Cornwall at over 700 feet (200 metres). This gives some idea of the setting of this long sand and shingle beach. The cliffs aren’t so steep here but the walk down from the coast path is still quite demanding and swimming is generally unsafe. There are actually two beaches here which join up at low tide. The smaller beach to the north is known as Little Strand and is set on the other side of the large rock / sea stack in the middle of the bay. There is a large rock arch at this end of the beach and there are some very interesting rock formations around here. Little Strand is popular with naturists. The main beach is a long stretch of sand at low tide which, given the relatively long climb down to the beach, is never busy. The path is well maintained and despite the high cliffs it couldn’t be described as hazardous.
Bossiney Cove. Picturesque small cove which joins up with neighbouring Benoath cove at low tide. The beach is still relatively quiet compared to much of the surrounding area because people tend to miss it completely as they drive from Tintagel to Boscastle – although it is overlooked by both a hotel and a campsite. Parking for no more than half a dozen cars, plus a walk also keeps the crowds away. One of our favourite beaches. Our choir sometimes has an impromptu sing in the caves – wonderful.
Trebarwith Strand. The ever-popular beach of Trebarwith Strand is located around two miles south of Tintagel. It is one of the few easily accessible beaches along this stretch of North Cornwall coast and there is a long stretch of golden sand backed by flat rocks and beyond these steep cliffs. At low tide the beach extends almost a mile , however as the tide pushes in, this all but disappears leaving just the rocks at the base of the cliffs. Along the length of the beach are caves and many rock pools. These little pools make the ideal place for crabs, shrimps, small fish to hide until the tide returns. With plenty of facilities and a seasonal lifeguard service Trebarwith Strand is a great family beach. Over the years Trebarwith Strand has been used as a location in several films. These include the 1974 film, “The Seaweed Children”, “Saving Grace” (2000), “Oscar and Lucinda” (1997) and the 1996 production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. All of which is testimony to the stunning natural beauty of this beach.
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