St Ives is the best-loved of Cornwall's small towns: a former pilchard-fishing port on a bay of turquoise water, with white and grey granite houses climbing the hill, narrow lanes, golden sandy beaches and a clear light that has drawn painters and sculptors for more than a century. It has about 11,000 inhabitants, many more in summer.
The artists' town
At the end of the 19th century, with the arrival of the railway, St Ives began to welcome artists attracted by the light and the landscape. In 1920 the potter Bernard Leach opened his famous workshop here, and from the 1930s the town became one of the centres of British modern art, with the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, the painter Ben Nicholson and many others. Hepworth's house and garden, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, with its sculptures among palms and flowers, is an enchanting place. On Porthmeor beach stands Tate St Ives, opened in 1993 and extended in 2017, devoted to modern and contemporary art linked to Cornwall. The town has dozens of galleries and artists' studios. Virginia Woolf also spent her childhood summers here, and the nearby Godrevy lighthouse inspired her novel To the Lighthouse (see Virginia Woolf's travels in Britain).
Beaches and walks
St Ives has several beaches: Porthmeor, on the north coast, is popular with surfers, Porthminster is the most family-friendly, and the small harbour beach offers views of the boats. From the headland known as the Island, with its fishermen's chapel, you can sometimes see dolphins and seals. The South West Coast Path leads west to Zennor, a village linked to the legend of the mermaid, along one of the most spectacular and wild stretches of the English coast.
Food and tips
Not to be missed are the Cornish pasty, a pastry parcel filled with meat and vegetables, the cream tea with jam spread before the cream, as is the custom here, and the fresh fish of the harbour restaurants. Watch out for the seagulls, very skilled at snatching food from tourists' hands.
Practical information
St Ives is reached by one of the most beautiful railway lines in England, a short branch from St Erth running along the bay; from London Paddington the journey takes about five and a half hours. In summer the centre is closed to traffic and parking is scarce: it is best to leave the car at Lelant and take the train. Spring and September are the best times to avoid the crowds.
See also Tintagel, Plymouth and British cities.