Wadebridge is a bustling former market town situated alongside the river Camel in North Cornwall. The town is the gateway to the Camel Trail – Cornwall’s largest free visitor attraction – and opens up not only the Camel estuary but also Betjeman country and the clean beaches of Rock, Polzeath and Daymer Bay, Port Isaac (Portwenn in the Doc Martin television series) and Padstow, now renowned for its quality restaurants. There are many independent shops in Wadebridge offering long-forgotten personal service; a number of good, reasonably priced eating houses and pubs, an indoor leisure centre, swimming pool and a two screen cinema offering latest releases. In short, a place to visit and spend some time. 

The initial settlement of Wade, the name of Wadebridge before the bridge was built, owed its existence to a ford across the River Camel. Two chapels, one each side of the ford, would see travellers seeking a blessing asking for a safe crossing and on reaching the other side, giving thanks to God for their safe arrival. The Reverend Thomas Lovibond, the vicar of Egloshayle, on the south side of the river, distressed at the large number of deaths resulting from the dangerous crossing, both of people and livestock, planned the building of a bridge which was completed in 1468 – hence Wade became Wadebridge and it revolutionised life in the town.  Given that the roads were so poor the river Camel obviously played an important part in the town’s early prosperity as all manner of cargoes would have travelled by boat, unloading and loading from the quays just below the bridge. 

Another important event in the town’s history was the opening of the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway line in 1834. This was one of the first built in the world and the second in the country, carrying the first steam trains in Cornwall, and was the first in West Britain to carry passengers. Unfortunately in January 1967 the North Cornwall line fell under the Beeching axe. However, the old railway station, now called the Betjeman Centre, has become a centre for the more senior of the local inhabitants. The route of the old railway line is now known as the Camel Trail, a track extending over 17 miles through beautiful countryside. The Trail runs from Wadebridge to Padstow and from Wadebridge to Bodmin and is hugely popular with cyclists, walkers and bird watchers. 

In summary, Wadebridge forms a thriving hub for North Cornwall, serving the needs of local residents, the wider outlying agricultural area, and for the tourists who regularly come to this beautiful area.