Thursday, 5. November 2026
Boscastle and Widemouth Bay, Cornwall
I’m back home now, having enjoyed a good week away in the South West. Before we left Cornwall today we stopped off at the garden centre in Bude. Mum and Dad drove straight home from there, while I went further South to visit Boscastle, and have a quick paddle at Widemouth Bay.
Having driven through Boscastle yesterday, I wanted to return and have a quick look round. Once parked I walked down to Boscastle Harbour to get some photos and enjoy the views. There is also a National Trust shop on the way down to the harbour, and an art gallery too which is well worth a look. I liked the opening times for the gallery which stated that those were the opening times ‘unless bad weather or at the pub‘!
Boscastle is a lovely little village – it is tucked away between steep hills on the north Cornwall coast. The harbour follows a narrow, winding route between the cliffs before eventually reaching the sea. It is hard to imagine now, but during the 18th and 19th centuries Boscastle was actually a busy trading port, with ships bringing in coal and other supplies and taking away locally quarried slate and agricultural produce. Looking at the harbour today does make me wonder how some of those larger sailing vessels managed to navigate their way in and out – It must have been a real challenge!
Boscastle is also well known for the devastating floods of August 2004, when torrential rain turned the normally peaceful rivers running through the village into raging torrents. Cars were swept away, buildings were badly damaged and a major rescue operation was needed. I remember seeing the extraordinary pictures on television at the time. Walking through Boscastle today, it’s quite difficult to imagine the scale of what happened here just over 22 years ago. The village has clearly recovered remarkably well, although the steep-sided valley gives you some idea of how the floodwaters could have caused so much destruction. The National Trust shop displays a sign above one of the doors highlighting the water level on that day.
I then stopped off at the Boscastle Farm Shop and got some scones to takeaway plus some clotted cream – so we can have a cream tea back at home.
Next, I went back up towards Bude and stopped at Widemouth Bay. More accessible for Dad than other beaches we’ve seen recently I thought I’d check it out for future reference. The water was still freezing but I did dip my feet in the water, briefly!
Widemouth Bay is a long, open stretch of coastline just south of Bude. It has a mixture of golden sand and rocky areas exposed at low tide. It is particularly popular with surfers, thanks to the Atlantic waves, although its also a lovely place for a walk along the shoreline. The beach has quite a different feel from some of the smaller, more sheltered Cornish coves I’ve seen the last couple of days – with wide-open views out to sea and plenty of space to enjoy the coastline.
Paddle over and I got in the car, set the sat nav for home, and arrived home at 16:30.
Goodbye until next time, Devon & Cornwall!
FH.
