If anyone asks me where I like to take a short break, I’d have no hesitation in recommending St Ives in Cornwall. We spent many a happy weekend during our courting days (that shows my age!) enjoying what St Ives has to offer. It caters for my love of the blue seas and my partner’s love of the magic light that is a magnet for so many artists. It holds fond memories for us for happy and sad reasons. We were married in Penzance Registry Office and stayed at the Tregenna Castle Hotel in an uncommonly warm September 1996.
Things to do For what to see and do in St Ives when you visit, check out the official website of the Cornwall Tourist Board at www.visitcornwall.com Places to eat There are so many good restaurants and pubs to choose from. The Cornwall Tourist Board has a list of them at www.visitcornwall.com /site/food-and-drink
but we would recommend; Blue Fish Restaurant The restaurant is set above St Ives harbour, inside the town’s old fish net lofts. The sleek, fresh interior of the restaurant is further complemented by fabulous views of the harbour. Telephone 01736 794204
The Sloop Inn Right on the harbour, this is one of St Ives’ oldest inns. Full of character and characters! Telephone 01736 796584
Pictured left, an evening view from the Blue Hayes Private Hotel overlooking St Ives Harbour
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What’s sad about that I hear you ask? It was the day of Princess Diana’s funeral. It was touch and go whether the ceremony would go ahead but at the eleventh hour we got the green light from the Registrar in Penzance. I’m sure Princess Diana would not have wanted it any other way! We paid St Ives another visit in early spring 2008 and stayed in different hotels offering three very different, but equally enjoyable experiences.
Interesting facts about St Ives ■ Tate St Ives opened 1993. Before being renovated into an art gallery the building was a disused gaswork. ■ Tate St Ives took two years to build, costing over £3 million. ■ Artists moved to St Ives in the 1880’s. The St Ives School began in 1928 inspired by local fisherman turned artist, Alfred Wallis. ■ The Skidden House Hotel, the first hotel in St Ives, was built in 1540. It was named after the metal skids fixed to cartwheels to stop horses and carts from skidding downhill. ■ St Ives is the most popular town in Cornwall for visitors to visit. ■ St Ives was voted Guardian Seaside Town of the Year 2007. ■ The famed quality of light in St Ives which attracts artists from across the world is due to the sun reflecting off the sea and the unique composition of St Ives sand. ■ Many famous people have lived in St Ives from time to time; Turner, Whistler, Sickert, Henry Moore, Dame Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Bernard Leach and Virginia Woolf. ■ St Ives enters recorded history with the arrival of St Ia or Hya, the Irish princess who brought Christianity to the area in the 5th Century.