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There is little distinctively Cornish in Cornwall's northernmost
town of BUDE , four miles west of the Devon border. Built around an
estuary surrounded by a fine expanse of sands, the town has sprouted a
crop of holiday homes and hotels, though these have not unduly spoiled
the place nor the magnificent cliffy coast surrounding it.
Of the excellent beaches hereabouts, the central Summerleaze is clean
and wide, though the mile-long Widemouth Bay , two and a half miles
south of Bude, is the main focus of the holiday hordes - it has the
cleanest water monitored between Bude and Polzeath, though bathing can
be dangerous near the rocks at low tide. Surfers also congregate five
miles down the coast at Crackington Haven , wonderfully situated between
430-foot crags at the mouth of a lush valley. The cliffs on this stretch
are characterized by remarkable zigzagging strata of shale, limestone
and sandstone, a mixture which erodes into vividly contorted detached
formations.
To the north of Bude, acres-wide Crooklets is the scene of surfing and
life-saving demonstrations and competitions. A couple of miles farther
on, Sandy Mouth holds a pristine expanse of sand with rock pools beneath
the encircling cliffs. It is a short walk from here to another surfers'
delight, Duckpool , a tiny sandy cove flanked by jagged reefs at low
tide, and dominated by the three-hundred-foot Steeple Point .
Bude's tourist office is in the centre of town at the Crescent (April-Sept
Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm; Oct-March Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat
10am-2pm; tel 01288/354240, ). Among the town's accommodation , Tee Side
(tel 01288/352351, tee_side@hotmail.com ; under £40) and Sea Jade (tel
01288/353404; under £40) at no. 2 and no. 15 Burn View respectively are
among a cluster of very similar B&Bs near the golf course. The Falcon
Hotel , an old coaching inn on Breakwater Road, is a much fancier affair
(tel 01288/352005; £70-90), and also offers bar meals and has a more
formal seafood restaurant . You can buy or rent surfing equipment from
numerous places on the beaches or in the town centre.
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