Cornwall is well known for its great surfing conditions, with sandy beaches and blue waters, but in the popular holiday town of Bude a surprising attraction has gone viral. What started off as a small joke in the beginning of May 2018, has now made its way up to the top of TripAdvisor as the number one attraction to see in Bude. So to answer all of your questions, we thought we would dedicate our final blog of the year to the talk of the town which is the Bude Tunnel!
So what is the Bude Tunnel?
The tunnel is a 70 metre Perspex tunnel that leads from the front of the Sainsbury’s store to its car park. The original listing on TripAdvisor was put up as a joke. The TripAdvisor listing describes the tunnel as “Consisting of 36 metal arches and over 70m long, nowhere else in Bude can you walk this far undercover in a continuous straight line, all ages are welcome”.
The listing quickly gained more than 150 reviews and became the inside-joke for local residents, particularly on the local Facebook group Bude Banter. The tunnel’s popularity grew fast, with locals and those holidaying in Bude posting funny selfies, resulting in the tunnel’s rating climbing above many of the other local attractions to visit in Bude. The online hype surrounding the tunnel was covered in many news articles including the BBC and the Huffington Post.
With the unexpected popularity of the tunnel, the town’s residents have continued to spread the online humour, with one review comparing the tunnel “with the cultural impact of the Great Wall of China” and claiming that it was “so good in fact we walked through it twice”.
The Bude Tunnel popularity hasn’t just been for a bit of fun as Bude residents have used the coverage of the once joke attraction for a good cause. Postcards of the tunnel have been sold for 50p each, to raise money for the Bude Sea Pool, a charity-run, semi-natural pool that is free for Bude holiday goers and residents. It’s great to see that money has been raised for this completely free attraction, which costs over £40,000 each year to maintain and keep it safe for public use. The anonymous TripAdvisor listing poster for the Bude tunnel was happy with the reaction, saying “It’s been a great talking point in the town and one that seems to have brought everyone together. It’s great that as well as being a bit of fun, it will rise a little bit of money for one of the town’s real attractions”.
The Bude Tunnel received a special Christmas makeover!
Just when everyone in Bude thought the hype of the story couldn’t reach any new highs, Sainsbury’s announced this December that the tunnel would be given a special Christmas makeover, which has made it an even more of a popular destination for those on a Bude holiday. The tunnel has been covered in an array of over 30,000 pixels of LED Christmas lights and features an all new ‘Bude Tunnel’ sign, as well as accompanying music. Sainsbury’s even paid for a full-time security warden to protect the Christmas light installation which was powered by two generators. The positive reaction to the lights has been massive and has now turned the tunnel into an actual tourist attraction, with the town benefitting from more tourists taking a Bude holiday. Even more news coverage was generated in December, especially as women chose it as a venue to propose to her partner!
With the lights, the popularity of the tunnel again exploded online, with hashtags such as #LightUpBude and #BudeTunnel being big hits on social media. TripAdvisor currently has over 500 reviews, with a mixture of joke reviews and genuine reviews of the Christmas lights, which seem to have put a smile on many faces. We think it’s great that the tunnel has helped Bude to become one of the best places to celebrate Christmas in Cornwall!
The Bude Tunnel reflects the residents’ friendliness and good sense of humour, as well as adding a funny reason for people to come on a Bude holiday! If you fancy visiting the tunnel and are considering a Bude holiday, we have luxury, family and dog friendly cottages, with all the facilities needed to make a perfect family get away. At Glebe House Cottages we have a heated swimming pool, newly refurbished tennis court, licenced bar, formal gardens and lots more! While checking out the funny TripAdvisor reviews of Bude Tunnel, please take a look at our Glebe House Cottages reviews. We are really proud to be the number one provider of speciality lodging in our local area.