Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

Food!

Yummy yummy food. We are so lucky to have the most amazing food in St Ives and I thought I would tell you about some of it.

If you are self catering you will need food and some people I know get Tesco to deliver to their holiday lets. But why not try Riverford? They don’t just deliver organic veg but also meat, eggs, milk and some treats!

On Thursdays we have a brilliant Farmer’s Market in the Back Packers just up from the cinema. Cheese, fish, meat, curry, bread, cakes, veg and other stalls………..well worth a stock up.

St Ives has its own baker, butcher and green grocer. Two co-ops. Also two excellent delis. One in Chapel Street and one the Digey. (Both have eat in as well). In Fore Street we now have the Allotment deli. You really are spoilt for choice. Oh and don’t forget the Health Food shop ‘Good Health’  in Tregenna Place which also has a fantastic salad bar.

Stevens sells fish in Back Road and you can sometimes buy fresh mackerel on the harbour front or why not go on a mackerel fishing trip and catch it yourself. There is nothing like fresh mackerel.

You really can eat so well in St Ives! Enjoy 🙂

Evening Activities in St Ives

Hi again everyone. So if it is nice weather I expect most of you are only to happy to have a nice walk round, perhaps a BBQ on the beach, eat in one of our many fine restaurants, get a takeaway and so on. Remember to look out for seals in the harbour. They often come in along Smeatons Pier when the fishing boats come in and you can buy fish to feed them. They are wild grey seals but they do perform to get the fish!!!

If you want a change though what might you do? There are always Shanty’s Lantern Ghost Walks which start from Westcotts Quay/St Ives Arts Club. He usually puts a board there with his times.

The Arts Club has some entertaining amateur performances and you can experience the ambience of  the upstairs stage which is where they used to meet from 1890 onwards! They put on amateur plays then too. From time to time there is Cafe Frug and also Unplugged Chameleon both gatherings of musicians and poets. Sometimes you get a surprisingly high standard.

Kidz put on some excellent shows for all ages including great performances for young children. Have a look at their website.

The Church has a programme of music this summer. Pick up the leaflet  from inside or see the website http://www.stivesparishchurch.co.uk/

Cafe Art at the Drill Hall has some interesting gatherings.

We do have a cinema. Slightly antiquated inside but some good films.

The Western Hotel has music every night. An excellent Jazz night on Tuesdays. See their windows for posters. They have won awards for the best music venue.

The Lifeboat Inn also has music as indeed do many of the pubs from time to time.

If I think of anything else I will add it and if anyone local is reading this and thinks of anything please let me know! You can look at http://www.onestives.co.uk as Steve keeps an update of events in St Ives

Don’t forget the St Ives September Festival.

 

Parking in St Ives and Oates Travel

The town is getting busier and as ever parking can be a problem. The main 1000 space car park up by the Leisure Centre is good. It is the car park which is signposted on most routes.  There are shuttle buses which take you either to Royal Square or the Tate. Walking down is fine but you might want to take the bus back! The evening parking tariff starts at 6pm.

The other good carpark is signposted if you really look out for it. It is the Rugby Club car park. £5 all day (no cut off time) and  there are shuttle buses down to Porthmeor Beach and the Tate. At the moment these run every half hour but in the school holidays they are every 10 mins.

The Shuttle buses from the Rugby club are also useful if you are staying up that way and can’t face the walk back up the hill! Or just have loads to carry after a day on the beach 🙂 (that is me!). There is a regular bus which passes that way too. Check the sign just by the Rugby Club.

There is a car park at the station but it is very hard to get into. Also  car parks above the Tate and adjacent to  Porthmeor  and Porthgwidden Beaches all tend to be filled up very quickly.

The other car park that is sometimes useful is off the Stennack just by the laundrette. It is expensive but if you want to just pop into town early or late you might get a space. The Doctor’s surgery also operates as a car park at weekends and in the evening.

You actually don’t really need a car in St Ives as buses and trains and Oates Travel (really useful for daytrips and so on) take you pretty much whereever you need so you could consider coming by train! If you are booking accommodation and want parking check it out with the accommodation provider.

Good Luck and have a lovely visit!!!!

New St Ives Visitor Information Centre

After the demise of the Cornwall County Council funded Tourist Information Centre  and  with many thanks to the hard work of  the Town Council St Ives will have a  Visitor Information Centre from June 13th.  The newly revamped space is really bright and welcoming, plenty of space to browse and look around. There won’t be as many staff as previously but the information should be easy to access on the walls.  Pop in and say hello. Also pick up an Enjoy St Ives magazine. I wrote the history article!

Accommodation in St Ives

http://www.onestives.co.uk/ for pretty much everything you can know about St Ives.

http://www.stives-cornwall.co.uk/ The St Ives Hoteliers and Guesthouse site.

There are holiday companies where you can book self catering properties. http://www.stivesholidays.com/index.htm

Also Aspects, Cornish Riviera, Powells, Carbis Bay Holidays.

http://www.chycor.co.uk/ is a site a lot of locals use to advertise their properties with.

We have a Back packers http://www.backpackers.co.uk/st-ives/

A campsite in town which also has lovely caravans. http://www.ayrholidaypark.co.uk/

That is by no means an exhaustive list but will hopefully get you started.

Oh and if you want to know more about St Ives have a look at this film on You Tube.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qIkJBTrJ_M I love the music which is played by Bagas Porthia a local group. Keep an eye out for their performances at various times throughout the year.

Internet Access/St Ives Library

My internet has been down for a week! Up and running again now thankfully. If you need internet access while you are down here……the library has computers you can use.( It is closed on Sundays and Wednesdays). And while I am talking about the library it is an amazing resource. Wonderful artworks on display including a Hepworth in the entrance foyer. If you have your home library card you can borrow books. There is an excellent art and Cornish History reference section to browse through. Apparently they are getting wireless. And there are often excellent events at the library.

The library now has wifi access (June 10th)

Other places for internet access. Kowabungas in Fore Street has an internet cafe behind the takeaway shop front. Cafe Art has wifi access as does the Western. Please let me know any other places.

The Food Festival was very successful and if anybody belongs to a Womens Institute or such like do book my Food Tour. It went down VERY well!

See you all soon…………………remember if you have done the History and Art Tour and would like something different you can now do the Literary Trail or even book  the Food Tour or indeed anything else that interests you. 🙂 Personalised tours can always be arranged.

Culinary Delights of St Ives!

The Food Festival this year was brilliant.

It made me think of the plethora of wonderful places we have
to eat in St Ives. I spend a lot of time wondering around looking at menus with
my mouth watering. If anyone wants to treat me to a meal out?! One way to try
some of the best fish restaurants is to go for the early evening deals or fixed
price menus. The Alba, Black Rock, Alfresco, The Loft.

The beaches all have wonderful cafes. The Porthminster Café which
is famous and you must book! The tapas and sunset on Porthmeor Bliss.
Porthgwidden which is almost Mediterranean.

There are some restaurants off the beaten track so have a good explore. Sims is  opposite the Guildhall and has a very reasonable fixed price menu. All home cooked and some wonderful art works by the chef! Nice reviews on Trip Adviser. It is always worth having a look on trip adviser to get an idea about places.

And then the Tate roof top café…………….what views. In the
Summer Holidays they are opening a Sunset Café on Friday and Saturday evenings……..check
with them for details.

CreamTeas at Madeleines, Coasters, The Tate, Bumbles, The Tea Room and others.

Mustn’t forget the wonderful views from the Pednolva. On
their roof terrace in sunny weather and inside in inclement weather. Nothing
like the views over St Ives Bay. You might see dolphins and seals. Actually I
have seen dolphins from the Porthmeor Café too.

I have only touched on what is available………….Oh Pizza
Express has opened £10 for two courses I saw advertised. I like On Shore for
pizzas and some delicious seafood. Café Pasta and other tea shops further along
the harbour.

Try the raw chocolate in Living Food of St Ives. A must
EAT!!! I grow healthy bean sprouts and you can buy the kits there or mail
order.

Pels is a different style takeaway near the Sloop………………

Anyway I have to stop and get some lunch now. I have made
myself starving and I have strawberries with clotted cream and asparagus from
the greengrocer.

I haven’t even touched on Fish and Chips and pasties. Another
time…………..:)

Sadly our one and only fish shop has closed! You can buy fresh fish from the Farmer’s Market on a Thursday or go to Newlyn. Sorry…………hopefully someone will come along to fill the gap soon.

Cafe Art

CafeArt in St Ives is offering two free tickets for my Food and Drink Tour on Friday 20th May. Just make up a great new sandwich filling and if they like it  they will feature it as sandwich of the week and give you the tickets. So start thinking!!!! Entries must be in by 18th May.

The Literature Festival has several events at Cafe Art including a drop in session from 5-6pm everyday where you can read your own work, share something literary or just sit and listen to others. I went yesterday and it was good fun. I think I will go on Friday and do a short piece ‘ Not The Guided Tour of St Ives’……….. along the lines of that TV programme filthy cities ………….go on come along and listen!

Writers in St Ives

Hello again.  I chaired a writer’s forum during the festival and it just made me think how lucky we are in St Ives to have so many successful authors living here. The library often has events and of course  a fantastic collection of books which visitors can borrow if you have your own library card with you.  There is also an art collection in the library which is a real surprise!

Anyway authors. At the event I chaired were Ann Kelley winner of the costa award for children with the second in her Gussie series.  Chris Higgins with her really amazing teen novels.  Jessica Mann who is a writer of crime fiction and also a factual book Out of Harm’s Way about the overseas evacuation of children in WW2 and Godrevy Light all about Godrevy Lighthouse the most beautiful book done with her husband who is a Cornish Bard. Do look. And finally Marion Whybrow a familiar figure in St Ives who has written about  Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell and many other books covering the art and artists of St Ives which are a must read.

I am only mentioning these because of the recent event but there are others like the children’s Soggy The Bear books by Phil Moran and illustrated by Michael Foreman, Liz Kessler’s wonderful children’s Mermaid and Fairy books. If you go to the Harbour Book Shop in Tregenna Place or St Ives Bookseller in Fore Street you will find many more. Oh and I nearly forgot I am reading Stitching for Victory by Suzanne Griffith. It is AMAZING all about the importance of stitching during the war but what  a clever way to give insight into the Second World War.  Read the Amazon reviews. You can click on any of the underlinedwords to go to a website!

The Drill Hall

Well everyone the Drill Hall  is now open and filled with some really interesting independent shops.  Do go and have a browse. The Drill Hall has a very interesting history including having  been the  Teetotal Methodist Chapel. The other day someone told me they played Badminton there and I am also told dances were held inside. If you know anything do let me know. Over the winter I will do some research and then put a talk on  in the lovely cafe which has opened just at the entrance to the Drill Hall. They plan some other events too and I bet it will look lovely at Christmas.

Drop on Tour Times

The Story of St Ives
Wednesdays 11am

Drop on Tours run from April to the end of October.

Private Tours

Private Tours can be booked at any time of year.

For more information and booking, please contact Dawn on 07816 180639.

Recent Comments
  • Sue Meadows: Fabulous, informative and fun walk with Dawn around St Ives today. Highly recommend!
  • Leigh Brownsword: I’ve been coming to St Ives all my life and learnt more today, in 1.5 hours,...
  • Conrad Shail: A great interactive tour. We are glad we decided to go along and join Dawn on her...
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