The Castle Heritage Centre

The Castle, Bude. Steeped in history. Come and Discover.

Welcome to The Castle, Bude’s Heritage Centre. Our Grade II listed building, one of Bude’s finest and oldest, is nestled in the sand dunes overlooking Summerleaze Beach and runs alongside the Bude Canal. The Castle, which it was named when it was built in 1830, is steeped in history and is a great place to visit whether young or old.

It’s imposing, yet elegant and unaltered, Victorian façade houses the Heritage Centre, Art Galleries, CafÃĐ and shop. Our rooms and exhibition spaces are light and airy and sympathetic to the Victorian period style. Our lawned area and bandstand are the site of many community events, open throughout the year.

A warm welcome awaits you here at The Castle.

The Castle offers free admission and is open daily between 10am until 4pm, owned and operated by Bude-Stratton Town Council.

New! - What's On

New for 2023! We now have an online calendar where you can see all the fun and exciting events that we hold every year. Plus, you can plan your day around what is going on here at The Castle. 

New - Object of the Year Nomination!

We have been fortunate to be nominated for Object Of The Year for their Cornwall Heritage Award in association with Cornwall Museums Partnership. The Ancient Prehistoric Forest Oak piece is currently being exhibited at The Castle in The heritage Centre. You can visit and read all about it here.

Vote for Bude
object of the year poster

New - Dog Friendly Venue Status

We all know that our town is renowned for being a dog friendly town. We would like to invite you to bring your beloved four-legged friends with you when you visit. We will always have dog free rooms for the CafÃĐ visitors and we will be observing Dog Free Mondays. Our venue always accepts coated assistance dogs. 

We'd love your feedback!

Have you visited The Castle recently? Did you attend any of the spooky activities over half term? Your feedback is really important to us, good or bad, and helps us to ensure that The Castle remains a great place to visit. Click the link to take you directly to our online survey.
Click Here for Feedback

Heritage Centre

Our award winning Heritage Centre houses artefacts and exhibitions bringing the rich varied local history to life. Discover Bude’s inventive genius, Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, its unique geology, alongside a wonderful collection of Bude railway nostalgia, interactive models plus local military and maritime history.

Discover

Galleries

We have three galleries that have a regularly changing programme with over 30 exhibitions taking place during the year, showcasing the talents of local artists and craftspeople comprising many areas including paintings, ceramics, photography, textiles and animations.
 
Visit

Cafe Limelight

After exploring The Castle, why not relax in CafÃĐ Limelight, with our stunning conservatory offering idyllic views across the Canal, Barrel Rock and Summerleaze Beach, with an outdoor patio area, nestled within the original garden walls and kitchen garden.  Our Gift Shop is a great place to pick up gifts or mementos of your visit to Bude.

View the Menu

Weddings at The Castle

The Castle has three licenced beautiful rooms for you to choose to say ‘I do’. Each are unique, all have stunning views and vary in size to accommodate most sizes of ceremony.

Book your special day

Live Music and Events

Throughout the year, Bude-Stratton Town Council, of which The Castle is owned and run by, host and organise a number of events. All these events are for the local community to enjoy and helps celebrate our heritage and being a part of Bude & Stratton and the surrounding area.

You can also hire the lawn area, bandstand, The Blanchminster Room and The Willoughby Gallery for your own events. Get in contact with us to find out more: KTaylor@bude-stratton.gov.uk

View our Events Page