BUDE with its bracing Atlantic air and glorious beaches has been a popular resort in the north east of Cornwall since Victorian times. Back then, it is said women were encouraged to use Crooklets beach for swimming, while men were directed to Summerleaze.

As well as swimming, cricket and tennis were popular among the affluent Victorian visitors who also seem to have successfully pushed for the creation of a golf course in the resort.

Further into the past, Bude had been the port village of the ancient town of Stratton just a short distance inland. However, thanks to tourism, Bude outgrew its venerable neighbour.

The railway reached Bude in 1898 and, into the 20th century, as tourism developed further, more hotels and guesthouses sprang up. Then, later in the century, the emergence of surfing as a leisure activity gave another boost to the town’s economy.

With the rise of cars, buses and lorries, the railway to Bude was axed in the 1960s under the Beeching cuts and today the nearest railway station is around 30 miles away at Okehampton in Devon.

Aside from tourism, another of the industries in the town was the transporting of sand inland from the beaches to be used to improve the soil on farms. The Bude Canal was built in the first half of the 19th century for this purpose and it also carried coal from South Wales. Today the remaining stretch of the canal is used for leisure activities.

One of the notable buildings in the town is Bude Castle which was built in 1830 for the inventor Sir Goldsworthy Gurney. The pioneering building, constructed on a concrete raft on sand, later had a role as council headquarters and it is now used as a heritage centre.

• Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor