Kilkhampton

Kilkhampton is one of the larger villages in the Bude area, sitting on high ground about 5 miles north-east of Bude town centre. The parish church of St James has some of the finest carved bench ends in Cornwall - over 150 dating from the 15th and 16th centuries - and a Norman south door that predates the main building. The village has a pub, a post office, and a primary school, making it a functioning rural community rather than a purely visitor destination.

The Coombe Valley, managed by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve, lies about a mile west of the village. The wooded valley runs down to the coast at Steeple Point and supports breeding woodland birds including marsh tit. There are waymarked walking trails through the reserve. Kilkhampton Lake (a reservoir) sits to the east of the village and offers a circular walk of about 2 miles. Bude Canal and the town beaches are under 20 minutes by car.

Holiday cottages in the Kilkhampton area are mostly converted farmhouses and barns spread across the surrounding farmland. The village sits close to the Devon border - Hartland in Devon is about 8 miles east. North Cornwall’s rugged coastal scenery is accessible via the coast path at Steeple Point or Sandy Mouth beach, both within 3 miles of the village.