Bude Canal
The Bude Canal in Cornwall is a canal of three parts: a short length of ‘ship canal’ which allowed coastal vessels to enter via the Bude Sea Lock, two miles of barge canal by which sizeable boats could penetrate two miles inland, and over forty miles of much smaller waterway with several branches that allowed tiny ‘tub boats’ capable of using the canal’s six inclined plane boat lifts to reach Lanceston, Holsworthy and many other places.
The Bude Canal & Harbour Society and Bude Canal Trust are leading a restoration scheme which has already restored the sea lock, and aims to fully restored and reopen the barge canal. Thanks to support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and local authorities, a £3m programme is currently under way which will carry out much of this work.
The tub-boat sections are unlikely ever to reopen to boats due to their small dimensions, the many inclined planes, and the fact that so much of the canal has disappeared over the years. But the hope is that much of the towpath can be opened up so that walkers can discover what is left of this unusual canal.
