St Ives

St Ives town is north of Penzance and west of Cambourne. It achieved best seaside town in the British travel awards in 2010 and 2011 and best seaside town 2007 by the guardian newspaper.

The origins of St Ives come from the legend La of Cornwall.

In the medieval times fishing was important to St Ives.The pier was rebuilt between 1766 and 1770

Bernard leach set up the leach pottery in 1920 – he is known as the father of British pottery.

The modern-day seaside resort was developed because of the arrival of the St Ives branch line in 1877 with much of the town built during the latter part of the 19^th century.

St Ives festivals

• Knill ceremony
• St Ives feast
• St Ives may day

The town takes its name from hya or La , an Irish virgin and martyr who is said to have accompanied St Piran on his journey to Cornwall in the 5 th century

It is a picturesque fishing harbour and seaside town renowned for its arts and crafts and culture.

Tate St Ives is an iconic gallery opened in 1993 to celebrate the history of art in St Ives

Four fab beaches

• Pothmear – great for surfing
• Porthgwidden
• Harbour beach
• Porth minister

Places to visit

• Barbara Hepworth museum
• Bernard leach pottery
• Seal island
• St Ives museum

It has been voted best holiday destination by coast magazine and trip advisors top 10 European beaches, one of Cornwall’s top destinations

St Ives is a sub-tropical oasis with golden beaches

Take a trip to seal island which is approx. 3.5 miles west of St Ives – home to more than 40 seals

Experienced surfers try “the boiler “come winter – a highly rated and challenging wave.

The town is built on a narrow peninsula fringed with sandy beaches

The down – a long

The down a long is the old lower part of St Ives. This part of town has a jumble of cobbled streets and whitewashed cottages. look out for teetotal street and the digey

St Ives railway

The route between St Erth and St Ives is one of the most scenic rail routes in Britain, highlights include bird watching in lelant and passing through sand dunes.

St Ives developed around the small fishing harbour and headland known locally as the island

During the 19 th century St Ives was home to over 400 pilchard fishing boats. It was also important for the export of stone, tin and copper from local mines

St Ives sits on the edge of the penwith heritage coast

Ideal for family friendly Cornwall and it is the art capital of Cornwall.