Guided Tours of St Ives

Only two weeks til the September Festival!  There is a lot going on. Look out for my walks and do remember that if the set times don’t suit you or if you want something more specialised you can ring to book a private tour.

As well as the September Festival we also have the Gorsedh. A really Cornish event.  There are many events associating with this grand gathering of Cornish Bards and feast of Cornish culture. Have a look at the website . The main event is on Saturday 4th September with a programme of other events from the 1st to the 5th

And at last Brookssmith Gallery has some wonderful new works by Susie Brooks including ‘St Ives It’s a New Day’. Go along and have a look at the top of Tregenna Hill past the Oxfam bookshop. Other galleries get lots of local publicity but this is a hidden gem.

For an update on all things local you can always go to Steve’s blog and website.

Well everyone I am going to Sussex for a while in July to help out after my mother has a heart bypass and also to await the arrival of my first grandchild. But don’t worry I have some wonderful guides for you.  It has been a boon as I needed some more guides since the tours are getting busier and busier and soon it will be more than I can manage on my own.

Andrew Jackson will be taking the Art Tours and you will be in very capable hands. Andrew is very much part of the St Ives community and works in the Tate from time to time. He has a lovely personality and a  great depth of knowledge.

Here is a comment I received about him

5 gold stars

Chris Smyth
(London )

For the history I have two new guides. Joern and Tim. 

Joern is an accomplished guide and does his own walks in the Cornish countryside. He is  also related to the Boase family and has  been researching his family history so if you need any tips you can ask him.  And he could give you a tour in German!  I also have other German speaking guides available so any German speakers please feel free to ask and we can provide you with a tour in your own language.

Tim Hannigan grew up in a tiny village on the coast west of St Ives.  His father was a fisherman, and later a local newspaper journalist, and Tim was steeped in the history and folklore of Cornwall from an early age.  He once made his living as a chef, cooking fish and seafood in restaurants in St Ives.  These days, when not guiding tours during the summer months he is a professional travel journalist working in Asia, but the stories he loves to tell most are those of his Cornish homeland.

Who knows when I get back we might offer more tours around the Cornish Countryside and remember I am also running a competition to name a follow on history tour. I can’t fit everything in in one tour and some of you have done both my tours and want more!!!  So if you come up with a good name which I can use then  you can try out the new tour for free and I will give  you a bottle of wine!

Well many people ask where I get my hair done! Not yesterday after torrential rain! but  I will tell you anyway. It is at Beachcombers in St Ives. All the team is great and they usually have a beautician there as well. Great to get an all over makeover whilst you are down on holiday.

Beachcombers: 01736 796959

It made me think about other places so you could also try the Attic Cellar  or Kyoto

Go for it! There are other places too like the Primrose Valley, Tregenna Castle. The list is endless and you are spoilt for choice.

Life's a Beach

Hello Everyone, Lots of exciting news. The new Enjoy St Ives Magazine has come out. I wrote the history article inside so do have a look.  The magazine is really informative and will be good for locals and visitors alike to browse. Get your copy from the TIC.  The cover image is by Susie Brooks and her work is available at Brookssmith Gallery at the top of Tregenna Hill. Rick and Susie will be in St Ives over half-term so take the chance to go up and meet them. 

And the St Ives Food and Drink Festival.  The website is not up yet but you can pick up a booklet with all the wonderful events from the TIC. Some need to be booked so don’t miss out. I am not in the booklet  but will be doing a tour at 2pm on Saturday 19th June. Details on the festival website.

I get many people on my tours who have come to St Ives on their own. Sometimes they are doing a course at the School of Painting, sometimes just getting away from it all. Some would, I know, love to have an evening where they can eat with or meet up with others. In fact people who have come with someone would also appreciate a chance to do something interesting one evening. So I am thinking of visits to artist’s studios, meals out, some kind of art discussion,  a Creative Writing class……………………….???

Do email me with any ideas you have for events or if you are visiting and would like to attend an event let me know and I will see what I can devise.

Hi again everyone. I am going to be starting Family Fun Tours this season. Currently I am searching for a toy rat…………..why you might ask? Well do come on a tour and find out. So that I have an idea of the children’s ages the Family Tours need to be booked .

There will a special tour available for 8 and unders.

The tours will include a quiz sheet to take away and competitions and prizes. I hope they will brighten dull days!

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Here is one of my wonderful boards – others distributed around town- which Carol (mostly Carol!) and I made. We were joking about the ‘Just Turn Up’ phrase. They have certainly been remarkably effective so far. Thank you Carol and thank you my parent’s gardeners who made the boards for me. Any ideas for promoting my tours would be welcomed. People still say ‘why haven’t we heard about them?’ Particularly people who want art tours.

Hello there everyone. Welcome to the official ‘Guided Tours of St Ives’ blog.

At this point there’s not much here but I will be updating this blog with all the ins and outs of running these tours, from making boards to planning routes to getting t-shirts printed.

I hope it will be interesting to read.

See you on the tours,

Valerie