Its' sandy beaches and pretty harbour make St Ives very popular with tourists.  With its curious street names and popular cobbled shopping streets St Ives will appeal to everyone.  St Ives has always attracted artists and it is now home to the Tate Gallery St Ives.

The streets are crammed with clothes shops, jewellery shops and gift shops, not to mention the numerous local art studios and galleries.

On a sunny day take to one of the beaches. There are four within the town of St. Ives itself and a couple more a little further a field at Carbis Bay and Llelant. Visit Porthmeor Beach next to the Tate Gallery and try your hand at body boarding and surfing.  A surf school operates on the beach and a hire centre is available complete with the esential wetsuits.  During our trip life-guards were also on duty on the Porthmeor Beach, keeping a watchful eye on the swimmers and surfers.

To explore the coast line you can take a walk along the coast path to Zennor, or if you prefer something more leisurely, how about trying one of the boat trips that leave St Ives harbour.  A 30 minute boat ride will take you to Seal Island where you can spot Atlantic Grey Seals. 

As well as the traditional boat trips to Seal Island, St. Ives also sports a few of the new breed of fast RIB trip boats - exhilarating but definately not one for the very young or infirm.

Should the weather change, then visit the Tate Gallery St Ives, which is in the same group of galleries as the London Tate and the Tate Modern. The gallery has a commanding view over Porthmeor Beach.

St. Ives is full of a variety of eating establishments, from pasty shops and chip shops to pub grub and great restaurants. Some bars and restaurants have open fronts and balconies which overlook the harbour.

St. Ives is a fantastic town and really does have something for everyone, and in our experience a week just isn’t long enough.

LGT tip – take your binoculars down to the beach with you, you never know when you might spot a passing pod of dolphins making it’s way down the coast - we saw a pod of 10 whilst we were down there and they love showing off their jumping skills!

LGTs KT visited St Ives August 2005