After having a fun time at Land’s End we were famished and, even though it was still a good 45 minute drive away, we decided to head to the seaside town of St Ives, for some lunch and a mooch about its pretty cobbled streets, quaint shops, the harbour and the beach.
There’s no denying St Ives’ appeal. For starters it has four beaches and a thriving entertainment scene with plenty of restaurants, cafes and pubs to choose from. St Ives’ pretty harbour with fishing boats bobbing above the water, framed by rows of multi-coloured houses – so quintessentially British. It is also famous for its art. We didn’t have time to visit the Tate, which is situated on a spectacular vantage point on Porthmeor Beach, however, we did amble in a few galleries and marvelled at the work by local resident artists. So much so, we couldn’t resist buying three large framed prints to take home.
The weather wasn’t brilliant and the rain began to fall quite heavily. Cue our chance to go and grab a very late lunch. But where to? Another blogger had mentioned The Seafood Cafe and, luckily, I remembered the recommendation as we walked past the restaurant! We were served straight-away and the menu was pretty extensive.
Everything we ordered was delicious, and knowing that all the fish was sourced locally made it all the more tasty. Our son insisted we had banoffee pie to end our meal, and by the time we had polished off all our food, it was time to go for another stroll. We all needed it!
The rain had finally eased, and we took our time looking at the various boutiques in the high street and all the souvenirs on offer, before heading to the harbour. While my son and hubby raced each other to the sea, I took my time ambling along, even discovering a small fishing chapel. But the best thing of all, was watching the two boys in my life larking about on the beach. After searching for sea shells and pebbles, we decided that it was getting late and it was time to head back.
There is so much to see and do in St Ives and we didn’t even pierce the surface. However, our afternoon spent exploring was sufficient enough to understand why its landscape is synonymous with what Cornwall is so well-known for, and why tourists continue to flock here, year after year.
Ting blogs about travel inspiration over at My Travel Monkey.
