Things to Do in Bude, North Cornwall

I rarely write about North Cornwall on the blog, but I’ve found myself exploring a lot more of the Bude area over the last few months!

I’ve always lived in what’s considered more of the South of Cornwall around the Truro and Redruth areas, so have never really spent much time in the North of the county. If I’m planning a to do some exploring around the UK I tend to leave the county altogether, rather than head an hour and a half up the A30 to see more of Cornwall’s spots – but this year that’s changed!

Over the last few months I seem to have spent a lot of time around the Bude area, for various press trips, and I thought I’d share with you some of the top things to do here if you’re visiting…

Dip in the Bude sea pool

My favourite thing about the town of Bude has to be its beautiful tidal sea pool. Built into the side of the cliffs, the large, partially man-made sea pool gets filled up each day by the tide at Summerleaze beach, and is the perfect place to mess about with some inflatables, play with the kids, or do morning lengths. There are lifeguards here, as well as a quaint set of beach huts lining the steps down from the coast path too.

Visit Temple coffee shop

Situated just off the main high street in Bude town centre, Temple is an awesome hangout spot to grab a coffee, a bite to eat or even to browse their shop shelves and pick up something from your favourite modern, indepie brands – such as Honest Skincare, Edwin, Stussy and more. If you love a good ‘Instagrammable’ hipster coffee shop / boutique, this is the place to head!

Go surfing at Widemouth Bay with Freewave Surf Academy

Last month I was lucky enough to be invited along to an amazing surf and yoga retreat hosted by Freewave Surf Academy*. These guys are based at Widemouth Bay (just 5 minutes outside Bude town) which is a popular surfing hotspot on the North coast. They are great surf teachers so if you’re keen to learn how to ride the waves, I can’t recommend this company enough! Definitely check out their upcoming retreats for later this year too…

Go rockpooling at Crooklets Beach

Crooklets beach is a popular cove attached to the North side of Summerleaze beach, with its own lifeguard station, car park, and collection of beach huts. It’s also popular for surfing, but has some great rock formations to explore at low tide to see if you can find some creatures in the rock pools…

Enjoy live music and tasty food at Elements

Elements* is a boutique hotel and restaurant sat on the cliffs between Widemouth Bay and Bude town. We stayed here for a night on a recent press trip and enjoyed the beautiful views out to sea from our room and in their garden area outside. The food in the restaurant was delicious as well, and outside in the quirky decked area it has a really great atmosphere with live music playing throughout summer too.

Walk the dogs along Summerleaze Beach

The great thing about Summerleaze beach (the main beach just a couple of minutes walk behind Bude town centre), is that it’s dog friendly all year round! They need to be on leads while the RNLI lifeguards are out (usually between 10am and 6pm in summer), but the rest of the time they are free to run around and enjoy themselves!

Go to Leopallooza Festival!

Just 20 minutes outside Bude is the annual Leopallooza festival* located at The Wyldes event site. It has literally just happened this weekend with artists including Friendly Fires, The Vaccines, Audio Bullies, Feeder and more. It was my first time visiting this year and we had so much fun; I can’t wait to go again next year already! (Full blog post coming soon).

The Wyldes also host one-off live music events here on the site throughout the year, seeing artists like Jess Glynne and Fatboy Slim perform here, as well as being available for hire as a wedding venue too.

Check out the studios along the canal

Bude canal is beautiful to walk along as it goes through the town and out towards Summerleaze beach, and as you start getting closer to the coast, the cobbled streets of the Wharf and the studio buildings here are really fun to take a look around. From handpainted glass to cute cafes and regular farmers / craft markets, this is a very picturesque part of the town!

Try beach yoga with Anna Young

Anna runs the yoga sessions during the Freewave Surf & Yoga retreat* and is an amazing teacher and person in general! She offers beach yoga sessions throughout summer on the sand at Summerleaze beach, which sounds like the perfect way to wind down after a long day exploring or surfing, and definitely the best way to practice outdoor yoga!

Have you ever been to Bude? What are your favourite things to do there?

*Indicates a gifted experience or stay, but I have not been asked to include these in this round-up; I have done so because I truly want to recommend these businesses!