Wadebridge

Wadebridge, one of north Cornwall’s main market towns and gateway to the Camel Trail, is not only attractive but also renowned for its craftware. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the town of Wadebridge, was in 1313 when a market and two fairs were granted to Wade – the name of Wadebridge before the bridge was built. At this time the town was in two parishes, Egloshayle and St Breock, either side of the river Camel. There were also two chapels, St Michael’s on the west side and King’s chapel on the east. Travellers gave thanks at both sides after a safe crossing. A major development occurred in the next century. The bridge, which must have revolutionised life in the town, was built by the Reverend Lovibond in 1460 and has 17 arches along its 320 feet length. Legend has it that it was built on wool sacks or bales but it seems more likely that this suggestion, that the bridge was ‘built on wool’, means that the money used from its construction came from the wealth of the wool trade. So important was the bridge that Oliver Cromwell himself came with 1,500 troops to take control of it in 1646.

The bridge still carries the main road which links the town’s two ancient parishes. The churches of these two parishes can still be seen today:  13th century St Breock’s Parish Church stands in a picturesque wooded valley that is known as Nancient (from the Cornish for ‘holy well’) while across the river from the main town, stands St Petroc’s Parish Church, in Egloshayle, the church at the centre of Reverend Lovibond’s ministry and to which he donated the money to build the imposing 80 feet tower.

To the southwest of St Breock lies St Breock Downs. In the heart of this exposed land stands the ancient St Breock Downs Monolith (English Heritage), a striking Bronze Age standing stone that was originally 16 feet high and now weighs at least 16.5 tons, making it the heaviest in the county. It is also known as the Men Gurta (the Stone of Waiting). Other prehistoric remains, such as the Nine Maidens, a row of nine stones dating from the Bronze Age, can also be found on the downs.

The town’s former railway station is now home to the John Betjeman Centre dedicated to the life and work of the much-loved Poet Laureate. The main building was formerly the Old Wadebridge Station, used by both Great Western and Southern Railways. The last passenger train left Wadebridge for Bodmin in January 1967, and after years of neglect the building re-opened as a day recreation centre. It opened in 1988 and a new building was added in 1991. The Memorabilia Room contains a variety of personal mementos, drafts of his works, academic honours and furniture that belonged to the author.

Although the railway line, which opened in 1899, closed in the 1960s, a stretch of the trackbed has been used to create the superb Camel Trail. The trail leads up into the foothills of Bodmin Moor, to the east of Wadebridge, whilst to the west the path follows the River Camel to Padstow through an area that is rich in wildlife and, particularly, in wading birds such as herons. Wadebridge is more or less in the middle of the Camel Trail, which is part of the Cornish Way, a network of cycle routes covering Cornwall.