Great South West Walk

Saturday August 18

Section 27. BUDE TO CRACKINGTON HAVEN. Miles: 10.2. Grading: Strenuous

Start time and location
Could you please report for registration at Compass Point by the tower in Bude at 8am.
The will commence at 8.30am.

Parking
Plenty of parking avaialble at start points.

Bus services
At the time of writing, there are all year services running from Plymouth station to Bude (First service X8). There is also a Western Greyhound Service (service 522) which connects Bude and Crackington Haven to Wadebridge, if required. Confirmation of all buses can be obtained from traveline on 0870 608 2608 www.traveline.org.uk

Trains
There are no railway stations in this area. However it is possible to catch a bus from Plymouth station, which is on the Penzance to Paddington main line, so you can reach the rest of the country from here. You can catch a bus from outside the station to the start of this section. For more information, please telephone National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.

Maps
Ordnance Survey Landranger series (scale 1:50 000) Number 190, Bude and Clovelly.
Ordnance Survey Explorer series (scale 1:25 000) Number 111, Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel.

General Information
BUDE: accommodation, pubs, cafés, car parks, shops, toilets and public telephones.
WIDEMOUTH BAY: some shops, pubs, cafés, toilets and public telephone.
CRACKINGTON HAVEN: limited accommodation, pub, shop, café, car park and toilets.

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRES
Visitor Centre, The Crescent, Bude, EX23 8LE. Tel: 01288 354240.

The Route
BUDE

At Bude an interesting piece of the coast path is undoubtedly the crossing of the Bude Canal, and for those who are lucky they may see a boat come in from the sea into the lock. Canals are not common in Cornwall. Financially the Bude Canal was never a success and from that angle it is a pity that its long protracted gestation ever gave birth; its first enactment was in 1774 and it opened in 1825.

From an enthusiast's angle it is very interesting. It was built to include no less than six inclined planes. These were the ramps up which the barges were hauled to avoid making a series of locks. The barges on the Bude Canal were almost unique having wheels attached to their outsides so that they could be hauled up or lowered down the slopes. Unfortunately, the engineering was ahead of its time and paid the price with unreliability of operation.

The coast path south from Bude starts from the sea lock on the Bude canal. There is an easy climb to Compass Point with its curious look-out tower, and then on to Efford Beacon.

This tower on Compass Point was erected in 1831 by Thomas Acland known locally as the Pepper Pot, but by its builder as The Temple of the Winds. The points of the compass are cut into the sides of the tower. It was moved because of cliff erosion and has been rebuilt 8 degrees out of true alignment. If it is really clear the views are superb; inland you can look south-eastward to the high tors of Dartmoor which is the highest land in the south of England. Nowhere else does it reach a height of over 2000 feet (610 m).

The coast path now follows the low cliff edge past Widemouth all the way to Wanson Mouth.

Widemouth has a very fine beach and surfing is a popular pastime. Car parks have been built and it becomes very crowded most of the year. It is not a place for walkers fond of wild places to roam.

At Wanson Mouth the coast path leaves the cliff for a little road walking because of cliff erosion. Just past the car park on Penhalt Cliffs you rejoin the cliff and soon descend into Millook Haven.

Walk out onto the beach - looking north there are some spectacular chevron folds in the bands of sandstone and shale in the cliffs. Since leaving the Devon border, the cliffs have shown some of the finest exposures in the country of rock sequences and they belong to the Bude and Crackington Haven series of sandstone and shales of Carboniferous age. They were deposited under marine conditions and subsequently affected by the variscan orogeny, a massive tectonic event caused by two continental plates colliding some 300 million years ago. This has produced all the folding and faulting seen in the cliff face today.

Return to the road and walk uphill into the hamlet of Millook.
Millook Cliffs drawn by Sue Jeffreys

In 1835 a project was put forward to turn this peaceful place into a port complete with a railway. It was to be called Melluach and it is hardly necessary to add that, like so many other schemes, it came to nothing.

Those who look back carefully can also spy the old mill wheel in Millook. The climb southwards will reach, near Dizzard, the highest point on the Cornish coast path so far at 539 feet (164 m). The climb is really very gentle and most unlike the toils earlier at the start of the Cornish section, or of those to come. A mixture of heather and wild roses commences at Millook and there are areas of purple-spotted orchids and sea pinks everywhere.

Walking west the coast path leaves the road 300 yards (275 m) up the hill at Raven’s Beak. The path now stays on the cliff top all the way to Crackington.

At the triangulation point on Dizzard the distinctive shaped Cambeak again comes into view, and there are good views back to as far as Higher Sharpnose Point. There used to be an unusual exit off Dizzard through a wooden door, but unfortunately this piece of eccentricity is no longer there. Shortly afterwards Tintagel can again be seen and the views of Cambeak improve. To the south-west the northern tops of Bodmin Moor, particularly Rough Tor, stand out.

Passing Dizzard Point the path descends steeply into Scrade Water and there is a corresponding climb out of the valley. Just under a mile further along, the path turns due west to traverse Castle Point with its Iron Age hill fort. This land was given to the National Trust in memory of Bob and Joan Wilton who lived in Kenya.

The descent to Coxford Water may have been sharp - the climb to the ridge of Pencannow Point is sharper and even longer. At the top of the ridge Crackington can be seen below. The view from the end of Pencannow should be everyone’s immediate aim. Looking back you get the best sight of Coxford waterfall and across the Haven is the impressive shape of Cambeak, while below is the beach - the best since Widemouth.

CRACKINGTON HAVEN

Crackington Haven came into existence as a small port importing limestone and exporting slate. A water mill operated in the village and the leat is still visible in places. The village offers refreshment and bed and breakfast accommodation. The Combe Barton Hotel enables you to take on plenty of liquid ready for the long climb from sea level to the top of High Cliff 730 feet (223 m) on your way to Boscastle.

If you have any question on any of the above please do not hesitate to contact one the event organisers found on the Contact us page click here

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