HEADING south from Bude, the South West Coast Path climbs to Efford Beacon which provides an excellent overview of the town and the surrounding districts.

The path continues on, passing through the village of Upton, before reaching the magnificent cliffs at the Phillips’s Point nature reserve. Below the cliffs, you may spot seals, dolphins and basking sharks, while there are panoramic views along the coastline when conditions allow. Meadow pipits, rock pipits, stonechats and wheatears are among the birds that can be found on the clifftops. Gulls and ravens inhabit the cliffs, and cormorants, guillemots, razorbills and shags can be seen feeding at sea.

The coastline off the village of Upton near Bude in North Cornwall. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
The coastline off the village of Upton near Bude in North Cornwall. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

As the path approaches the seaside resort of Widemouth (pronounced ‘Widmouth’) Bay, there are marvellous views of the enormous gently-sloping beach with its sand and rocks, including the prominent Black Rock. The resort is popular with tourists and there are holiday parks and campsites nearby.

The sea at Widemouth Bay, like at Bude, is good for surfing though caution must be taken regarding the rip currents. There is, of course, more than enough space for beach games, and beach-goers can also idle time away rockpooling. The beach, backed by low-lying sandstone cliffs, a car park and various facilities, is west-facing and enjoys some tremendous golden sunsets.

The beach at Widemouth Bay in North Cornwall enjoys some amazing sunsets. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
The beach at Widemouth Bay in North Cornwall enjoys some amazing sunsets. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

In the past, Widemouth Bay was used by boats trading from Wales, bringing in coal and taking out metallic ores mined in Cornwall. In addition, the crews are said to have taken away Cornish pasties to be enjoyed in Wales. Smuggling also went on across the centuries.

Since the 1960s, underwater communication cables have come ashore at the beach. These cables link the United Kingdom with countries around the world, carrying huge amounts of information including emails, photographs, telephone calls, texts and videos.

A sign marking where the underwater communication cables come ashore at Widemouth Bay near Bude. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
A sign marking where the underwater communication cables come ashore at Widemouth Bay, near Bude. (Picture: Andrew Townsend) (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

• Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor

Cornwall Favourites For One And All! is available as an ebook on Amazon
Cornwall Favourites For One And All! is available as a book and an ebook on Amazon. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)