Cornwall: St. Ives Day 1

I find myself at a loss for wards about St. Ives, so there won't be all that many. I'll let the story be told primarily in photos, more of which will soon appear on facebook, for those of you who can't get enough!


I woke up early this morning, as my very small and simple hotel room features a bay window looking out on a beach facing southeast. Una bella vista! While the sound of the waves lulled me to sleep last night, the rising sun made certain that I didn’t sleep in this morning. That last is not a complaint!

The view from my room - Porthminster Beach on the right

I arrived yesterday late morning, and spent much of the day wandering the streets filled with artists’ studios and artsy shops, along beautiful beaches unusual in my experience in the U.K. as they are deep, even when the tide is in, and filled with fine-grained, light-colored sand, unlike most others I’ve encountered here. I’d compare them to Florida beaches, except that there you will not find the craggy cliffs that separate one beach from the next. No wonder they call this part of the world the Cornish Riviera!

Porthmeor Beach

As I look out my window I see just to my right the nearest beach, Porthminster, which interestingly I’ve not yet visited, as it is a good bit down from the height on which my B&B sits, and is in the opposite direction of the center of St Ives. 

Harbour Beach, from Smerton's Pier

When I look left I see a smaller strip of sand called Harbour Beach, along which I strolled yesterday, along with many others enjoying the sun and relatively warm weather. And probably the finest beach is Porthmeor, above which stands the architecturally impressive Tate St Ives, white and shining above the sea and sand. 

The Tate St Ives, from Porthmeor Beach

Additionally, in the distance across the sea I see other sandy beaches all along the coast, beyond which rise dark rocky masses on which grass and mossy plants grow. When I climbed one such hill and stepped off the tended grass onto the less neatly cropped areas I felt like I was walking on foam. Part of me wanted to bounce up and down on it, though the others on the same height may have thought that sort of behavior in a gray-haired old man!

The view from above Porthmeor Beach
note the mowed lawn and next to it the very pliant scruff
In the distance is the former ancient chapel of
St Nicholas, destroyed in 1904 and restored in recent years

This is St Ives and its environs, an old fishing village that is still slightly active but that is now much more an artists’ haven and—it is said that the light here is unique and perhaps that's what draws them. Without knowing as much about light as I probably should, were I an artist I'd be drawn to this place in any light! And so would and do many others, which makes St I'ves a major tourist destination as well. While there are some tacky touristy spots, for the most part it is upscale and classy. And really one of the loveliest places I’ve visited.

More beaches in the St. Ives area

Beond that, not much more to say. I took in the Tate at one point in the afternoon when it threatened to rain. It featured the work of Simon Fujiwara, brought up in St Ives but of an eclectic background. Five galleries are devoted to his work. The function of this museum is to feature one artist at a time, and one who has lived and worked locally. Fujiwara's installations are immensely theatrical, which attracted me to them

The Sea Food Cafe on Fore St

Before I visited the Tate I ate at a simply titled but highly recommended place, the Sea Food Cafe. You can choose your fish from the glass cabinets which house the mostly fresh caught local seafood. I was so boggled by the selection that I chose simply, the haddock for fish 'n' chips. Now THIS is fish 'n' chips as they were meant to be, in a good but unintrusive batter lightly covering a deliciaus fillet of fish, over excellent chips. Even the mushy peas were tasty! And I topped it off with a Tribute ale, which you'll recall was difficult to come by in Penzance -- as were good fish 'n' chips! Come to think of it, I may well re-visit the Sea Food Cafe and perhaps choose a little more adventurously today. A little hake perhaps? or Plaice? Local Mackerel? Crab? Salmon or sole? It's all laid out in the case, and it all looks yummy!

Fish 'n' chips at the Sea Food Cafe

Alas, whilc I have been writing this, the clouds have taken over, earlier than predicted. It could be that I’ve already had the better of my two days in St Ives, a good day to visit the other museums in town, the Barbara Hepworth and the S.t Ives Museum. But time will tell, and I’m in no great rush, as already I’ve seen so much. I'll have a stroll in a few minutes, and see where that leads me. Chances are I won't be disappointed.