St Ives in August - yes or no?

[Trumpsgoneloco]

Cant go abroad this summer so I'm thinking of a family break in Cornwall in Aug. I like the look of St Ives. How busy does it get? Is the weather very unreliable? Is there loads for a wide variety of ages?

@Middleofnowhere8 any recommendations?

It’s a lovely place, but streets are so narrow that it’s unpleasant in the school summer holidays. We visited in early July - never again.

I’ve been in august, well, we had a day trip from Newquay! It’s rammed in august, and shops are tiny and rammed full of people! Beaches are full, but it’s so beautiful! My favourite place but I’m not sure I’d go again in august!
Last year we looked for a b&b in st Ives for august but they were all booked up, so I’m not sure where you would want to stay, it books fast for the summer holidays… this is why we went to Newquay and had a day trip into st Ives in the train!
If you fancy Newquay I can recommend a lovely caravan park, but it depends the type of accommodation you prefer!

I went in December just after the pandemic and it was busy enough then. Weather is UK so not reliable. I don’t remember there being a lot to do for all ages - lots of walking, beach, a bit of art/museum.

Gosh not as busy as those places. It has five beautiful beaches in town, two of which are enormous and you’ll have plenty of space.

there are two main shopping streets that get crowded in the afternoon because of the number of day trippers. Fine in the morning.

Parking is an issue but you’ve sussed that. I personally never enjoyed staying in the heart of town in August, it’s noisy - but then you want something with parking so you’d be better suited to finding accommodation over towards Porthminster beach where you’ll find parking and where you won’t have to drive through town to get in and out.

alternatively stay nearby at carbis bay and take the train (it takes 3 minutes) but then there’s not much to do in carbis bay despite the glorious beach and good cafes on the beach.

how old are your children?

I know A LOT about St ives for various reasons, not least owning a holiday let there

Absolutely not. It's awful in Cornwall in the summer, you can't move. The roads are a nightmare. I live down here and wouldn't go near the place in the school holidays!

@Misspacorabanne I'm quite flexible with accommodation (I'm not paying 😆). What holiday park do you recommend?

See my previous post, took me so long to reply that two new messages popped up!

Stay in Hayle instead and get the train in to St Ives. Then you can travel around (at a slow pace) to Marizion, Penzance etc.....

@Confusedformer that's good to hear! I will look at Porthminster beach. Dc are 10 & 11. Carbis Bag looks beautiful but not much there as you say.

You are welcome to PM me

We love Cornwall in August, although you can't bank on the weather. I would recommend somewhere not in central St Ives though. Also, lots of bookings are done way in advance so good central places booked already.

We have always gone by train and found that works for us.

Try Helston, Porthleven, Penzance

@ItsNearlyEaster it does look beautiful. What other areas would you suggest?

@WTF99 thank you!

https://www.aspects-holidays.co.uk/st-ives-webcam
I look every day at the webcam on here
St Ives, Porthminster Beach, Marazion and Penzance
You'll get the vibe from watching St ives over the next week or so.
Fantastic place. I'd recommend staying in Hayle or Penzance and bussing around to different places

@Trumpsgoneloco Hendra holiday park in Newquay! We love it snd really can’t fault it!
It’s immaculately clean and well kept, and plenty to do for any dc. There’s some stunning beaches nearby to Newquay too, and plenty to do in the local area. If you then did fancy a trip to st Ives, you can catch a train directly from st Erth (which is about 40 mins drive away from Newquay)
I love that whole area, it’s beautiful.

@Confusedformer thank you

There's a good bus Penzance, Marazion, St Ives route. It goes via the holiday village. From the double decker open top you see what it's like, definitely put me off plus it's not in St Ives or anywhere really

I've been going to St Ives several times a year for 30 years. Heaven in June. Hell in August. People are correct about booking eating places now. Places with parking......absolutely depends on the type of car you have. If it's a cottage near the harbour the parking space will be small and probably has a low ceiling. If you have a long car or a tall SUV type forget it. There's no way your car will fit in a space you've paid extra for. If you're paying for a driveway parking space a bit further out you may be okay. Weather generally lovely in August but that means hundreds of people will be doing the same as you.Seagulls very aggressive.

Well, in that sense St Ives is quite well served. It's on a branch railway line, and there are also buses to Penzance and around the Land's End peninsula.*

*although best check that- I was shocked to find that the Land's End Coaster seems to have been cancelled out of season recently 😥

However, IMO there are far, far better places to stay in Cornwall than St Ives. My preference would be Penzance if you want a buzzy, town kind of vibe.

@Misspacorabanne I found that on Google earlier today so good to get a recommendation.

Oh yes, book all your meals in advance

@crackofdoom what are the differences between Penzance & St Ives. I do like buzz and I like having everything close on foot.

If we do book I will book restaurants asap.

Try Carbis Bay - get train into st Ives - it’s like 19 mins and cheap then go back to much quieter Carbis bay !!!!