— By Andru Shively — 

Stretching 70 m across a grocery store car park in Cornwall’s seaside town of Bude is the Bude Tunnel – to the untrained eye an unassuming covered pedestrian walkway for weather-weary shoppers. The plastic structure is, however, fast becoming a popular tourist attraction in the UK.

Before you laugh and call the Cornish landmark, well, corny, remember that “truth is in the eye of the beholder” – without getting into technical details, that’s the gist of what psychologists Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson were getting at with their reality tunnel theory. And, in reality, this tunnel is a hit in the eyes of many a visitor. 

At press time, the Bude Tunnel had 1,296 five-star reviews (averaging 4.5) on a popular travel company’s website and was ranked the 6th best thing to do in Cornwall. Local media also report that it managed to place 19th for free attractions in all of England.

“Knee trembling”, “a wonder of the modern world”, “iconic urban architectural masterpiece” – the reviews say it all.