1. Summerleaze
The main beach, located adjacent to Bude town, has lovely golden sand, great surf and the famous Bude Sea Pool which combines the safety of an enclosed swimming area, with the natural experience of the sea. Summerleaze is RNLI patrolled from now till the end of September and has many handy facilities including a café/ bistro, toilets, parking, beach shop, beach huts and surf hire. Dogs are allowed (must be kept on a lead between 10am and 6pm from May to September).
2. Crooklets
At the top end of the town, Crooklets beach is home to Bude Life Surfing Club and as you might have guessed, another great surfing beach! It is also where the annual Christmas Day swim takes place which attracts many hundreds of swimmers and a couple of thousand spectators! Again it is a lovely sandy beach with plenty of rock pools for crabbing and facilities which include cafés, toilets and beach huts for hire. Crooklets is a dog free beach until 1st October.
3. Northcott
2 or 3 miles north of Crooklets, your will find Northcott Mouth sheltering below the cliffs and accessible by car or foot via the Coastal path from Crooklets. It is a National Trust beach with fine sand, large pebbles at the top and lots of interesting rocks surrounded by shallow pools – ideal for beach combing and rock pooling and is life-guard patrolled during July and August. There are few facilities other than parking, but about 100 yards above the beach you will find a Rustic Tea Garden which has been run by local character Margaret for over 50 years! Great surroundings to treat yourself with a cream tea, a pasty or a piece of cake! Dogs are welcome all year round.
4. Sandymouth
2 miles further north you will come to Sandymouth, also a National Trust Beach which you approach via a fairly steep track from the car park crossing a band of large smooth stones before you reach the fabulous sandy beach, so we recommend travelling light on the day you go to Sandymouth! It is well worth the effort though and tends to be fairly quiet as a result. During the summer, there are toilets and a great café on the track as you head to or from the beach. Dogs are welcome all year round.
