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Waterways > Bude Canal
Bude Canal
Bude Canal is mainly derelict and only in water from the sea lock until the base of the first inclined plane.
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Facts & Stats
35.5 miles
(57.1 km)
The length of the Bude Canal when it was in water.
1891
Abandoned
Having been completed in 1823, the canal was then closed with the end of the tub boat operation.
433 feet
(132 m)
The height the Bude Canal rose from sea level.
Bude to Druxton Wharf
The first 2 miles from Bude inland was a broad canal, the remainder was a tub boat canal including 6 inclined planes. This includes the Hobbacott inclined plane, the largest with a plane length of 935 feet and a vertical rise of 225 feet.
At the end of Helebridge Basin, the bottom 50 yards of the Marhamchurch inclined plane has been cleared to show how the broad canal changed to the tub boat system.
Waterway notes
Waterway restoration
Restoring the UK’s blue infrastructure – our inherited network of navigable canals and rivers – is good for people and places.
New waterways add value
The advantages of the proposed waterways far exceed leisure boating alone. They incorporate a nature reserve, footpaths and cycle ways, the potential to improve flora and fauna and will contribute to the health and wellbeing of locals and visitors.
Waterway underfunding
Hundreds of miles of waterways – along with their unique heritage and habitats – are currently starved of funding and rely on constant lobbying by us to safeguard their future.
Love your waterways
Together we can protect and restore our waterways; the UK’s 6,500 miles of canals and rivers need your help.