St Ives Cornwall Weekend

We left home early in the morning to make the most of the two days we would be there.

St.Ives is a very popular place and finding a hotel was a challenge for the four of us. We had found and booked one overlooking the sea on the hills above the town. We reached the hotel early, parked the car as there were plenty of available parking spaces at the hotel. We checked in later in the afternoon. It was like a castle with its own beautiful grounds. It had two swimming pools, tennis and badminton courts as well as a gym and a spa.

As the weather was very pleasant, bright and sunny with a cool breeze, the walk down was invigorating, through the well laid out hotel gardens, along a road giving good views of the beach and the harbour down below.

When we reached the harbour area we strolled along the tiny cobbled streets for a while. Three of us had a Cornish Cream Tea for lunch, I am still not sure what the difference is between a Cornish and a Devon Cream Tea but it was lovely.

We then wondered around the shops and the art galleries. We also walked up to the top of headland where there is a very good panoramic view of the coast and the expanse of the sea. We went from the harbour to other beach watching the waves splashing on the rocks and trying to identify the various sea birds feeding in the water, some squabbling.

Eventually my daughter and I went to the Tate Gallery, which overlooks the lovely surfing beach of Porthmeor which was busy that Saturday afternoon. The exhibition at the Tate St. Ives was very modern and rather beyond me, though my daughter loved it.

We walked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and have a rest. Having been to St. Ives before we thought it was wise to reserve the restaurant we wished to go for the evening in advance and were very glad we did. The meal was excellent. We stay inside by a large window, overlooking the harbour. The moon came up whilst we were eating and the reflection on the water was magical.

We all slept well having walked around for most of the day plus the added bonus of the sea air which always makes me sleepy. The breakfast in the hotel was varied with plenty of choice and very good.

The next morning we visited the Barbara Hepworth's Museum at her Trewyn Studio where she lived (now in the care of the Tate). The Studio leads to the garden which is pleasant with flowers, bushes and trees which are slightly overgrown in parts but it has a nice calm feeling. Several photographs were taken of the various sculptures, made of stone, wood and bronze by my husband and daughter. There is a small shed with a bed in it and in another part which was a workshop which had been left as if the lady had just popped out.

We then went to the Eden Project, which was very interesting. It had suffered from floods and is now recovering. It wasn’t as busy as I expected to be and we parked very near the entrance. The ticket purchased at the entrance allows visits for up to a year.

We spent all afternoon there, looking at the plants, including flowers, trees and vegetables growing outside. We went into the Rainforest Biome, but didn’t go to the top to the Lookout as it was very hot and humid as it has to be, but I wouldn't have missed going into the Biome. We also went to the Mediterranean Biome which was a more pleasant climate for strolling around. Spring flowers were there in perfusion and also there were several small birds flying around.

It was a very busy weekend with lotsto see and do but it was very enjoyable.