Bude-Stratton Town Council is responsible for managing and operating the following:
Parkhouse Car Park with Flowers
The Parkhouse Centre

Is not only home to Bude-Stratton Town Council Offices but has four rooms for hire, all with WiFi, large screen televisions and a hearing loop. In addition, the multi-functional Ivor Potter Hall can be set out for parties, dinners, dances, conferences or performance and features a theatre-style lighting room, stage and dressing room. 

The Castle
The Castle Bude

Grade II listed and steeped in history, The Castle & Heritage Centre offers lots to see and do free of charge, whatever the weather. Open daily from 10.00am, The Castle is home to Café Limelight, two galleries (Willoughby Gallery and Blanchminister Room) and a gift shop. The Castle is licensed for all civil ceremonies. 

Rainbow over the Castle
The Castle Grounds

Free for all to enjoy, and superbly maintained by the Facilities Team. During the summer months, there’s something on in the grounds more or less every day. Local bands perform at the bandstand and many community events and activities take place. The grounds are available to hire for both community and private events.

Bude Library Exterior with flowers
The Library

Recently taken over by Bude-Stratton Town Council as part of the devolution process from Cornwall Council. Not only can you hire books, ebooks and DVDs, there is a wide range of groups and kids’ activities each week at the Library. There are public computers available to use, and joining the Library is easy – and FREE!

The Downs 2022
Summerleaze Downs

Summerleaze Downs is a large recreational area with stunning views over Bude’s beaches and down to Bude Seapool. Central to the Downs is the flagstaff made from the mast of The Elizabeth, wrecked in 1912 in heavy seas. The Downs is an absolute favourite for dog walkers, as dogs are permitted off lead all year round. 

Pitch & Putt at Crooklets
Pitch & Putt

In 2019, Bude-Stratton Town Council opened the brand new Pitch & Putt on Summerleaze Downs, with views stretching out to the Atlantic. Currently run by the Pearl Exchange which leases the Pavilion building, the Pitch & Putt offers refreshments and toilet factilities. Cost £3.50 per person. The nearest parking for customers is at Crooklets.

Bude Triangle
The Triangle

Our oasis in the centre of Bude. Prior to the arrival of the Town’s mains water supply it was home to a water pump where residents without wells would collect their water. The Triangle sustained a lot of damage during Storm Eunice in Feb 2022, when its iconic tree fell. It remains a place of calm, however, where you can sit and watch the world go by. 

View of Shalder Hill
Shalder Hill

Shalder Hill is the large grassy knoll to the rear of the Parkhouse Centre,  leading to the War Memorial. Adjacent is the meteorological station, and one of BSTC’s many flagpoles. The hill was created on a previously flat expanse of land, made from the surplus sand, mud and soil from the earthworks undertaken to build The Castle.

Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill Battlefield

This area is part of the site of the Battle of Stratton, a battle of the South West campaign of the First English Civil War which took place on 16th May 1643. The land was purchased by Bude-Stratton Town Council in 1997, using grants and locally raised funds, to preserve this important and historic site and to provide free community access for leisure purposes. The total area is 30 acres including woodland, river, water meadow and grazing pasture with public footpaths and access routes.

Our new Play Area
Play Areas

The Bencoolen Playpark is the main play park in Bude. It was recently updated with extensive new inclusive play equipment, and it is now recommended for ages up to 12 and fenced in for safety.  There is a smaller area for younger children which is due to be upgraded very soon. Poughill play area is a small fenced area with play equipment, next to the car park and cemetery. There are also two wooden play ships, on the sand dunes behind Summerleaze beach and one on Crooklets promenade.

Cemetery​
Poughill Cemetery

Bude-Stratton Town Council owns and manages the main cemetery at Poughill, with its sizeable free-to-use car park. In addition, BSTC’s Facilities Team maintains Poughill Churchyard for the Stratton Deanery’s Anglican St. Olaf’s Church.

Summerleaze Toilets
Public Toilets

There are six public toilets in Bude, Stratton and Poughill maintained by BSTC. All are free to use, with disabled access. Additionally, most include baby change units. 8am – 8pm in the summer, and until 6pm in the winter. 

Parkhouse Car Park with Flowers
Car Parks

BSTC owns and manages the car park at the rear of the Parkhouse Centre, and also the parking bays along the River Neet. Both of these parking areas are pay & display. Additionally, BSTC owns the large free-to-use car park in Poughill by the cemetery. 

Gardens in Bude
Gardens

Maer Gardens is a large sloped grassed area which overlooking Crooklets beach and Summerleaze Downs. BSTC also owns and manages Rattenbury Garden in Stratton, which is a small triangular paved and hard landscaped area with benches.

Barge Workshop
Helebridge Wharf

The Barge Workshop houses various local heritage artefacts, including a Bude Canal wooden tub boat – a boat not just of local interest but of national significance. Open July – September on Sunday afternoons, 2pm – 5pm, thanks to Bude Canal and Harbour Society

Tea Rooms​
The Lock Gate Tea Rooms

The Tea Rooms were originally the stable block for The Castle and can be found on the Lower Wharf end of the Castle drive. The building is currently leased out by the Town Council.

The Old Forge​ Bude
The Old Forge

The Old Forge was originally built as part of the Canal Development Project. The canal’s work-horses were shod here and leatherwork and wheels for wagons were made in the forge. It was where much of the repair work for the lock gates and canal was undertaken. The original flooring inside was constructed from planks rescued from the wreckage of the Bencoolen, who’s figurehead is still found in the Heritage Centre. An additional section was built which now houses three craft units leased out by the Town Council, as well as the ice-cream kiosk at the end. 

Bude Canal
Facilities Services

Bude-Stratton Town Council provides the decorative lighting along The Strand and in the Triangle, most of the flower planting around the town as well as at Rattenbury Gardens in Stratton and maintains miles of rural public footpaths in Bude, Stratton and Poughill on behalf of Cornwall Council.

Our Works Unit
Works Unit

In 2014, we completed the building of our own new works unit here in Bude. This has made us more self-sufficient, even helping us meet our environmental goals as we have installed solar panels and harvest rain water, whilst at the same time giving us greater control of costs and increasing local job opportunities. There is a large polytunnel on site where many of the plants for the flowerbeds around Bude and Stratton are grown. 

Cornwall Council

Cornwall Council has responsibility for the provision of the following services – please follow the links for relevant further information and enquiries:

My area is an online resource from Cornwall Council allowing you to input your postcode to access all the relevant services and key information for where you live.