Crackington Haven
OS Grid ref:- SX140972
Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the sheltered beach at Crackington Haven, situated just to the west of Bude, offers opportunities for surfing and swimming, with lifeguards in season.
The small but characterful village lies between Bude and Boscastle and is located at the mouth of a picturesque valley, the name deives from the Cornish Porthkragen, which means cove of the little crag. It has some facilities, including a few beach shops, a restaurant, a pub by the beach, cafe and a hotel.
The top of the beach consists of pebbles and rocks, some of which are of great geological interest and there are rock pools teeming with wildlife along the western fringe. The beach has lifeguards in the summer season. Views from the surrounding high dark cliffs are magnificent. Much of the surrounding cliffs, which are carpeted with various wild flowers in the spring, are now owned by the National Trust.
Crackington Haven was once a small port used for the import of coal and limestone.
Nearby St. Genny's church, (In Cornish- St. Gwynnas) is situated on a sloping site at Penkenna Point (OS grid ref- SX1497) and is dedicated to the fifth century St. Genesius, who martyred under the Roman Emperor Maximianus in 303 or 308. It is the last resting place of many shipwrecked sailors . The church has superb coastal views north to Bude and Mormenstow. Parts of the church date back to the eleventh century and the cliff top building occupies the site of an earlier, Saxon church. St Genny's was restored in the Victorian era. St. Genny's commands one of the finest views in North Cornwall, and looks out over Bude Bay and up the Bristol Channel to where Lundy Island can be sighted.
To the south of Crackington Haven lies High Cliff, surpassing 700 feet, it is the highest cliff in Cornwall. The West country author, Thomas Hardy, conducted a romance with Emma here, whom he later made his wife.
The village was badly affected during the Boscastle Flood of 2004, when several homes and the pub were damaged.