Wadebridge Town Council is based at Wadebridge Town Hall which was officially opened by Sir Paul Molesworth as the Molesworth Hall and Exchange on 23 May 1988. Historically Wadebridge was part of St Columb Rural District Council until the creation of Wadebridge Urban District Council in April 1898. Geography The town straddles the River Camel, upstream from Padstow; the town centre being on the west bank of the river. On St. Swithin's day 1965, there was a flood in Wadebridge town centre after five and a half inches of rain fell in four and a half hours around high tide. The Swan Hotel on The Platt was flooded to a depth of one and a half feet. Transport For many years, Wadebridge was a traffic-congested town, through which the route of the A39 trunk road passed; however, in 1991, the Wadebridge bypass was opened, together with the Egloshayle bypass, enabling the two settlements to regain much of their former charm. The main shopping street in Wadebridge (Molesworth Street) has subsequently been pedestrianised through construction of an inner link road, allowing traffic-free shopping. Local bus services are operated by Go Cornwall Bus and Kernow, with routes to Boscastle, Bude, Launceston, Padstow and Truro. Wadebridge no longer has its own national railway station, since its closure in 1967. The nearest is now Bodmin Parkway, on the Cornish Main Line, which is served by services to Plymouth, Cardiff, London Paddington and Penzance. Culture and community The Molesworth Arms is one of the oldest Inns in Wadebridge. Previously known as The Fox, The King's Arms and The Fountain, this coaching Inn got its current name in 1817. Since 2014 the first of the annual events in and around Wadebridge has been the MayPlay festival, a weekend of free children's activities. The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Show is held at the Royal Cornwall Showground, west of Wadebridge over three days in early June each year. The show began in 1793 at Bodmin and was then held every year in East and West Cornwall alternately until 1960 when it came to its present site. The showground, run by the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association, is used for many different functions from Scout Jamborees to point-to-point horse racing. The Big Lunch, organised by the local chamber of commerce, is a free street party in the pedestrianised part of Molesworth St in the centre of Wadebridge, where around 500–750 people