Budock Water

Budock or Budock Water ( _kw. Dowr Budhek) is a small village and civil parish in the Kerrier district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the fringe of the Falmouth urban area, about convert|2|mi|km west of the town centre. The location of the villages can be seen on the [http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|Budock%20Water MultiMap] representation of the area. Budock is within easy reach of the magnificent sailing waters located around the Helford River and the Carrick Roads, and there are popular family beaches nearby at Falmouth. For those who enjoy walking, the parish has a well maintained series of public footpaths, and the famous South West Coastal Footpath can be accessed within a couple of miles. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,399. It is the main village in the parish, which also includes the smaller villages of Lamanva and Treverva. The parish extends to some convert|2400|acre|km2 in total, mostly comprising farm land used for production of early potatoes, broccoli and daffodils.

The earliest recorded rector of Budock was in 1207, although it is believed that the link to Budoc "(sic)" dates back to 470 A.D. (Budock History Group, 1974). Besides the parish church, the village also had a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel originally built around 1814, and rebuilt in 1843. Declining congregations eventually resulted in this chapel being closed and sold, and although that building is now used as a meadery restaurant, there is still an active Methodist Chapel at Treverva. Budock village also has a thriving public house called the Trelowarren Arms, and there are also two hotels in the parish, being [http://www.crillmanor.com/ Crill Manor] and [http://www.penmorvah.co.uk/ Penmorvah Manor] , which both have restaurants that are open to non-residents.

The village is fortunate in still having a local post office and shop, although the post office is currently under the possible threat of closure as a result of the central government review of rural post offices. There is a regular [http://www.truronian.co.uk/media/adobe/T41007.pdf bus service] connecting the village with both Falmouth and Helston as well as the outlying villages in the area. There are good employment opportunities in the nearby towns of Falmouth and Penryn, as well as in Helston, Redruth and Camborne for those prepared to travel the 10 or so miles to work.

The village school (a Church of England primary school) closed in 1990 when it was amalgamated with two other church schools, and the original building was sold and converted into a private house. Local children benefit from a popular playing field in the middle of the village, generously given to the villagers by a local landowner some years ago, and which is now equipped with an array of swings and climbing frames. There is also a village hall that is used by various clubs and organisations ranging from the toddlers group, through the Brownies and Guides, to the Over 60s Club.

Budock woods remains a popular wooded area adjoining the village for weekend walks. One area of the woods was noted to have a great many bluebell flowers, but these suffered after the great storms in January 1990 that toppled many of the mature beech and sweet chestnut trees that they were growing beneath. There is also a wild and romantic “jungle” garden located at Penjerrick Garden that is open to visitors on certain days.

The parish has its own [http://www.budockparish.net/ web site] that gives details of various contacts for local organisations and events.

References: The Budock Parish History Group (1974) "A Short Study of an Ancient Parish."The Budock Parish History Group (1993) "A Short Study of an Ancient Parish Volume II."