Short answer: Watch from high ground well back from the water — Compass Point above Summerleaze is the best vantage point in Bude. Never stand on the breakwater, the harbour wall or the rocks. People die doing that in Cornwall most winters.
Bude faces the open Atlantic with nothing between it and America, which makes it one of the best places in Britain to watch a winter storm — and one of the more dangerous if you get it wrong.
The octagonal folly on the cliff above Summerleaze gives you height, distance and a full view of the sea state. This is where to go. You are well above the waves and there is no route for water to reach you.
The breakwater, the harbour wall and the rocks around Summerleaze all look like good viewpoints in calm weather. In a storm they are the most dangerous places in Bude. Waves in a big swell arrive irregularly — a set can be twice the size of anything in the previous ten minutes, and there is nothing to hold onto.
Stay well back from the water's edge, never turn your back on the sea, and keep off piers, breakwaters and rocks entirely during rough weather. Wave heights are genuinely unpredictable and cold water shock incapacitates you within seconds.
The best storm watching is usually at high tide with a big Atlantic swell running, often the day after a named storm rather than during it. Check the tide times and go an hour either side of high water.
Salt spray carries a long way in a gale. If you are taking a camera, expect to be cleaning the lens constantly, and keep it dry between shots.
The Brendon Arms is five minutes away and does proper food, and The Barrel is a genuinely good micropub for warming up. Both are considerably more pleasant after an hour in a gale.
See the full Bude guide, filtered by who's with you.
Plan your day near Bude →