Holiday Cottages in St Ives
St Ives is a spellbindingly beautiful destination in West Cornwall and as such is extremely popular with visitors and locals alike. It has long been a preferred destination for holidays in Cornwall due to its safe and brilliant beaches, its charming town with cobbled streets and its plethora of fantastic art shops, eateries and attractions.
The harbour front at St Ives is very much the centrepiece; a cobbled street adorned with buzzing shops, bars and restaurants that curves magnificently around the ancient harbour where colourful fishing boats bob about. Explore the narrower, cobbled streets beyond the scenic seafront and you will find even more galleries, craft shops, surf shops, many top quality cafes and restaurants, and artists' studios, as well as hundreds of quaint Cornish cottages. Make sure to visit The Barbara Hepworth museum and Sculpture Garden, The Penwith Gallery showcasing local artists the Tate St Ives and the Bernard Leach Pottery.
As you wander through the streets, be sure to stop off at the Island; a small peninsula jutting out in to the sea with a tiny chapel at the top. From here, you get a great view of St Ives and will quickly appreciate why the town has earned itself the reputation it has with artists across the world.
The town has five sandy beaches to choose from: St Ives Harbour, Bamaluz, Porthmeor, Porthgwidden and Porthminster. They each offer a different experience. Porthminster is fabulous for families or for those who want to stray away from the town centre a little. It offers calm waters, clear seas and wonderful views back to St Ives itself. Porthmeor on the other hand is the beach where waves can usually be guaranteed – unsurprisingly, this is the surfers’ favourite. Bamaluz is St Ives’ dog friendly beach and probably best visited at low tide. At any of the beaches in St Ives, you will never be more than a few footsteps from some great venues for lunch, dinner or a simple snack. Indeed, St Ives is the go-to place for fine dining with spectacular views!
