The Tamar Lakes - A waterworld of delight

Lower Tamar Lake was dug in 1823 along with the Bude Canal – a 19th-century engineering achievement – to supply Bude with drinking water. The 80-acre Upper Tamar Lake is the younger sibling and was opened in October 1977 after four years in construction. The result is two beautiful lakes in a tranquil setting where you can be as active or as passive as you want.

The area did not always enjoy our recent mild winters. In December 1935 skaters were apparently seen gliding over the frozen Lower Tamar Lake, and a number of years before that, bicycle races and a horse drawn sleigh sped over the ice sheet. Last winter, you would have been more likely to have spotted the odd spring bloom, confused by the uncommonly mild December and January.

Upper Tamar houses the watersports centre and offers sailing, windsurfing and kayaking, with tuition available from qualified instructors. Otherwise you can simply hire equipment or launch your own dinghy, kayak or windsurfer. There is a Saturday morning junior club which is open from April to October and allows children from eight to sixteen to try sailing, windsurfing and canoeing with extra activities available during the summer. Junior cadet weeks throughout the school summer holidays invite children to learn water skills. If you are on holiday and have a child’s birthday to cater for, you can let them whizz along on surf skis behind a power boat with a meal in the tea room or barbeque for just £10 per child. Minimum age is eight. On a Sunday morning children aged six to ten can take to the waves in Oppies, a type of small sailing boat, and if the water sports aren’t enough to tire out the young ones, let them burn off even more energy in the play area while parents relax with a welcome cuppa.

If you’re into angling, a full day permit costs just £5 from the on-site kiosk. You may well hook Carp, Bream, Tench, Roach or Rudd, and it is not unusual to bring home bags weighing up to 50lb – so make sure you have plenty of friends to share the feast!

You don’t have to worry about taking packed lunches and drinks as the tea-room overlooking the lake is open from 11am to 5pm from April 1st to September 30th and offers a wide choice of cooked lunches with meat and vegetarian pasties, home-made quiches and soups and British favourites such as ham, egg and chips. Breakfast is available from 11.30am at the weekend with a variety of home-made cakes for an afternoon snack. If you prefer lunch on the go you can pre-book a packed lunch for collection when you arrive.

Lower Tamar is much smaller with an easy circular walk. It is predominantly managed as a nature reserve and was nominated a bird sanctuary in 1949, and not surprisingly, you can view hundreds of different bird species from the bird hide. The main ones you will probably recognise are Canada geese, Teal, Sandpipers, Heron and Cormorants.

At the end of this lake lies the Bude Aqueduct, built with the lake to drain water from the Lower Lake into the Bude Canal. Try the walk, calling in at the interpretation centre at Virworthy Wharf to learn more about this fascinating canal. Pick up a trail leaflet from the tea-room.

With plenty to do for all ages, a visit to Tamar Lakes is a must if you are staying in North Devon or North Cornwall.

Useful Information:
Parking Pay & Display costs:
£1 for 2 hours, £2 for all day, season tickets available from the tea-room for £20. Parking is free to Friends of South West Lakes Trust.

How to get there:
Tamar Lakes are signposted from the A39 at Kilkhampton and along the Bradworthy to Holsworthy Road.