Bude Canal

The Bude Canal was a canal built to serve the hilly hinterland in the Devon and Cornwall border territory, chiefly to bring lime-bearing sand for agricultural fertiliser. The project was a magnificent engineering feat of its day stretching some 35 miles from Bude to Holsworthy and on to Launceston.

When the railways came about, this ended the commercial operation of the Canal, which ended up closing in 1891. The port of Bude remained in commercial use until the 1930's, but the canal was neglected and without regular maintenance it very quickly deteriorated.

In 1998, a canal partnership was set up to actively pursue the regeneration of the Bude Canal; the partnership is made up of town councils and district councils, in the North Cornwall area. The Bude Canal Project will be the catalyst to create jobs and give a better and balanced environment for local people and the tourists to use and enjoy.