St Ives recommendations

[loveagift]

We are unexpectedly heading to St Ives* in a week. Any must sees, dos or eats?

*Yes, I know it will be busy

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Barbara Hepworth sculpture garden. I’ve been to St Ives many times and always go to the Tate but only went to the BH garden for the first time last year and it was lovely.

Otherwise, walking, beach, bit of shopping.

Don't try to do too much.

A venue that is 10 minutes walk away will take you 30 minutes to get to.

If you see a lovely piece of artwork in a shop window that is only a little bit more expensive than you're quite happy to pay - go ahead and buy it, because if you don't it will stay in your head all day and you'll go back at 16:45 to buy it and someone else will have bought it and you'll never see it again.

Do not miss the Hepworth museum.

BH did look interesting when I did a quick google so I will definitely go there. Thanks

Definitely the above suggestions. St Ives is my most favourite place and always visit in my birthday month of October.
Porthmeor Beach Cafe is fabulous- we treat ourselves to breakfast there every morning, a small but well stocked independent bookshop, a lovely walk through woodland to Carbis Bay ( where you can grab a coffee or lunch depending on your budget!)
Worth checking out which evening the lifeboat has it’s drill (right on the harbourside) - it’s a sight to behold watching the lifeboat being launched off its trailer into the waves by a massive sea tractor .
The town museum is very “old school “ but houses thousands of fascinating artifacts.
Worth checking out walking tours - we booked at the library.
Highly unlikely that it’ll rain but there is an independent cinema in town too.
As you can tell, I’ve visited St Ives many times!

Are you driving and if so have somewhere to park? This would have been difficult for us if we didn't have a private space. Just saying as parking may need to be thought about and pre planned.

@Definitelygoingwe are staying at a relatives house which has parking. They were on holiday elsewhere & decided to extend it. We aren’t super close so it’s incredibly generous of them.

We will be feeding the cat though!

@user1469207397breakfast sounds good and the dc will love the lifeboat drill.

Get into town early, I’m talking 7.00/7.30 you won’t get parked otherwise.

Hooray for the update about staying somewhere with parking, game changing 😂🫠

😆

The Sloop pub is an institution and you need to go for a drink - sit outside if you can. Agree Porthmeor beach cafe is excellent, great for dinner, and the book shop is fabulous. The Hub overlooks the beach and whilst can be iffy service is great food. You MUST play at the arcades on the front - Hilly Billy Moonshine shooting game is hilarious. Carbis bay also lovely but has got very expensive in recent years. You’ll have an amazing time!

Agree Porthmeor Beach Cafe is lovely. We always go to Porthminster Beach Cafe for a lunch - a bit spendy, but gorgeous. We like The Lifeboat pub right on the harbour for a great Sunday lunch. Also Balcony Bar a bit further along the front is great for burgers and has big windows to look at the sea. Rum and Lobster shack do great cocktails (not eaten there). As you can gather, we like eating in St Ives!

How lovely. We’ve been visiting for twenty years - it’s somewhere that just got under my skin and I love going back. Like the pp I usually go ‘off season’ but it’s lovely whatever time of year. I love St Ives bakery for a pasty or some really good bread. Porthmeor beach cafe for breakfast although West does a good breakfast burrito if you want something outdoors and super casual. Avoid town in the middle of the day it’s just too busy. Ardor is great if you fancy a romantic meal. Enjoy the cobbled streets first thing in the morning and take a bottle of wine down to the beach to watch the sun set in the evening - magical.

I can recommend the boat trip to Seal Island from Smeatons Pier.
It was the most fun I'd had in a long time (the boat goes pretty fast!) and the seals were really cute.
You also get some lovely views of Pothmeor Beach and the rocky headlands, and lots of sea birds.
We booked as soon as we arrived and set out about 3.30 pm and did shopping, had lunch and went to the Tate in-between.

Try the Cornish Deli for lunch. You will likely need to book as it’s small but always excellent food and lovely people. https://www.cornishdeli.com/
There is a fab place next door that do amazing cakes too!

We enjoyed the train for the wonderful views.
https://greatscenicrailways.co.uk/lines/st-ives-bay-line/

Thanks for all the food recommendations, we like eating! Will check out the arcades as the dc are a fan. I’m also keen on a boat trip and the train trip looks lovely.

The Tate is worth a visit too!

if the weather remains good, nothing beats a good old fashioned day on the beach which St Ives has in abundance. Take care with your lunch though….the seagulls are brutal! I used to go there a lot and used to book a deckchair either on Porthmeor Beach or the Harbour (just past the Sloop).

if the kids are old enough they maybe interested in a surfing lesson on Porthmeor Beach.

Mind the gulls! They are vicious and take no prisoners. Lots of lovely galleries. Depending on your DCs’ ages and interests you might want to walk up the hill to the Leach Pottery. There’s a leisure centre with pool behind the big car park. Trevaskis Farm near Hayle/Connor Downs. Trip to Marazion and the causeway over to St Michael’s Mount; there’s also a seafront cycle path that takes you from PZ station to Marazion which is very popular. If any of you like model trains/Meccano/old stuff in barns go to Moseley Heritage Centre near Illogan but check opening times.

Well just to update everyone & thank you again for the recommendations. We had an amazing time & got so lucky with the weather. Tbh most days were spent at the beaches as the dc really got into body boarding. I myself had such fun jumping over the waves!

We also ate a lot, Porthmeor Cafe, St Ives Bakery, Hub, Pizza van, Cornish Deli, Burger place, Fish & chips, another bakery. Copious amounts of ice cream.

Squeezed in a boat trip, St Michael’s Mount, arcades 😆 & I treated myself to some art from one of the galleries.

We will go back as I didn’t do everything I wanted to, what’s it like at Christmas?!

So glad you loved it. I've never been at Christmas, but speaking to locals it is very busy, but a great vibe.

Go to the Pilchard Press for a drink.Sometimes the locals sing sea shanties. Porthgwidden beach
nice and sheltered for small kids
and the cafe is great for lunch coffees and dinners

It’s lovely at Christmas (although I do find all the empty holiday lets a bit depressing). It gets busier every year and the weather can be grim but I rather like hunkering down somewhere cosy while it’s miserable outside. If the weather’s good it’s amazing, there’s a reason why the artists flocked there for the light.