Bude Haven is a small seaside resort town on Cornwall's north coast, about 10 miles to the northeast of Boscastle. It dries entirely but offers a sea lock where a vessel may lie afloat in perfect security, and a flat sandy beach for those that can take to the bottom.

The beach is exposed west round to north, but the sea lock offers complete protection from all conditions once you are in. However, this is subject to many constraints as this haven faces out into the Atlantic Ocean. The harbourmaster requires 24 hours’ notice to grant permission to enter the sea lock, and this is subject to conditions being very settled or a moderate offshore wind prevailing with no swell. The approach then has to be made at high water via a dogleg pathway that requires daylight to pick up its leading transits. Should the right window present itself, it should also be remembered that a departure is subject to the same constraints.

No attempt should be made on Bude Haven if any ground swell is running.

Keyfacts for Bude Haven

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 49.769' N, 004° 33.127' W

This is the entrance to the Bude Canal.

What is the initial fix?

This is ½ mile out from Chapel Rock and on the 10-metre contour.

What are the key points of the approach?

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How to get in?

Bude Haven, also known simply as Bude, is a small seaside resort located 12 miles to the northeast of Tintagel Head and 4½ miles to the south of Sharpnose Point. The resort town is situated in one of the few valleys along this cliff coast and is at the seaward end of what was once the 50km-long Bude Canal, which dates back to 1819. Although never commercially viable, today the Bude Canal forms the central feature of the port, where vessels that can take to the hard may run in and dry upon the firm sands of its approaches. About 20 small boats use the tidal moorings of the original harbour during the summer months. Most are sport fishermen, but there is also some small-scale semi-commercial fishing for crab and lobster.




Bude Canal's sea-lock terminates on the foreshore, offering complete protection. Vessels drawing up to 3 metres can enter on a spring tide and lock-in in perfect security. A minimum depth of 2.5 metres is required outside the lock for the entrance gates to open. This can be found in settled conditions within two hours of an intervening tidal period or spring tide high water. It is nevertheless advisable to approach an hour before high water to have an hour’s rise available should there be any complications. The final approach to the entrance is protected by a small islet named Chapel Rock, which is dry at low water, and is connected to the shore by a stone seawall and small breakwater.


Bude Haven is entered via a dogleg following two sets of unlit alignment marks (as pictured further below):

• (i) Outer set of leading marks: the first set of marks leads past Chapel and Barrel Rocks, and is situated above the low cliffs on the north side of the estuary, behind a swimming pool and above the beach. The front mark is a white post with a yellow diamond topmark, the rear is a white flagstaff, in transit bearing 075° T.


• (ii) Inner set of leading marks: the second set of marks intersects the outer set to lead into the entrance to the Bude Canal, standing close outside. The front mark is a white pile beacon, the rear a white spar, both with yellow triangular topmarks that provide a transit bearing of 131° T.

It is important to note that vessels approaching from the northwest must not be tempted to skip the outer set of leading marks for the inner pair. The initial approach must be from west-by-southwest using the outer transit set.




From seaward, the beaches will be seen to widen into Bude Bay to the north of Dizzard Point, and then to thin out again beyond Sharpnose Point. Sharpnose Point may be positively identified by a group of satellite dishes standing close within. The small gap in the cliffs, which is Bude Haven, can then be picked out 3 miles southward. From Widemouth Bay to Hartland Point, 15 miles north, the coast faces due west and has no dangers extending beyond ½ mile from the shore.

On closer approaches to Bude Haven, a stone tower will be seen standing above Compass Point, just before the low cliff line abruptly ends and drops down to the entrance.



From the initial fix, steer for the small stone tower standing over Compass Point to identify and bring into line the outer leading marks, and prepare the west-by-southwest approach.




The larger rear Flagstaff is the most conspicuous of the marks. Once that has been identified, the lower outer mark on the foreshore, with a yellow diamond top mark, will become more obvious. Once in line, on a bearing 075° T, track in close to the end of Chapel Rock and close outside Barrel Rock until the intersection of the inner set of marks occurs.



The inner transit bearing 131° T then turns uncomfortably close around Barrel Rock with its green beacon, literally with a barrel topmark. It then passes close east of Chapel Rock as it leads up to the lock gates.



Break off the transit when approaching the front mark and steer for the entrance to the lock. Pass between two posts just outside the entrance. Stand well clear of the starboard post as it marks the outer end of a low wall that covers at high springs.




Dry out on the firm sands alongside local boats on the approaches to the sea lock.



Alternatively, with the harbourmaster’s permission, enter the sea lock, and berth as directed.




Do not anchor off Bude Haven as an outfall pipeline extends up to ½ mile seaward close south, while submarine cables, which may best be seen on a chart, extend seaward from the shore close north.

Why visit here?

The origin of the name Bude is uncertain, though it is thought to have once been a river description meaning ‘muddy’ or ‘turbulent’. In the Middle Ages, the only dwelling in Bude Haven was Efford Manor, the seat of the Arundells of Trerice, which had a chapel of St Leonard. Another chapel existed at Chapel Rock, which was dedicated to Holy Trinity and St Michael.




By the 18th century there was a small unprotected tidal harbour at Bude, but it was difficult to access whenever the sea was up. The Bude Canal Company built a canal and improved the harbour. Its original purpose was to take small tub boats of mineral-rich sand from the beaches at Bude and carry them inland for agricultural use on fields. A series of inclined planes carried the boats over 400 vertical feet (120 metres) to Red Post, where the canal branched south along the upper Tamar Valley towards Launceston, east to Holsworthy and north to the Tamar Lakes, which fed the canal.

The enterprise was always in financial difficulty, but it carried considerable volumes of sand as well as coal from south Wales. The arrival of the railway at Holsworthy and the production of cheaply manufactured fertiliser undermined the canal's commercial purpose, leading to its closure and sale to the district municipal water company. The wharf area and harbour, however, enjoyed longer success, with coastal sailing ships carrying grain across to Wales and coal back to Cornwall.

In the latter part of Queen Victoria's reign, the middle classes were discovering the attractions of sea bathing, and the Romantic Movement encouraged an appreciation of wild scenery and the Arthurian Legend. To serve this desire, a railway line was extended to Bude in 1898. This encouraged the holiday trade, but Bude never rivalled Newquay or the resorts of south Cornwall and Devon.

North Cornwall District Council continued to administer the canal, harbour and lock gates until its abolition in March 2009. Unfortunately, several historic wharf buildings were demolished in the 1980s, but since then the canal has undergone restoration. The canal gates were renewed after the originals were damaged by a storm in 2008, and the pier head by the locks is a Grade II-listed structure. Bude Canal is today home to the only manually operated sea lock gates in England.



Present-day Bude has two beaches with broad sands close to the town and is a good centre for adjacent beaches. From a sailing point of view, it is the only location along this coast that offers a vessel complete protection once in the sea lock. It also benefits from the adjacent town’s excellent provisioning capability.

We are currently out and about finding Havens and talking to sailors like you. By popular user request, we have posted this marina in advance of our normal production. Hence we have adapted wikipedia data in this ‘Why visit here’ section. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this text under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

What facilities are available?

Bude Canal has water, electricity, and a modern shower and toilet block. Petrol and diesel are available in cans from a nearby filling station, while a local mini-supermarket supplies Calor gas. Camping Gaz is available from a caravan site about a mile from the canal basin. There is a choice of supermarkets in the town, which is a short walk. A Post Office shop will be found close to the basin, along with a library and the Bude Tourist Information Centre.


Stagecoach South West operates numerous bus services in and around Bude, with direct routes to local towns, such as Holsworthy, Wadebridge, Bideford, and Barnstaple.

With thanks to:

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