Saint Ives: Art, Beaches and Harbour on the Atlantic

Saint Ives combines the Atlantic coast, harbour life and an unusually important art history. Anyone planning a family trip can combine different ideas for day trips here: building sandcastles and swimming at Harbour Beach, walking along Porthmeor Beach, visiting Tate St Ives for art or gaining insights into the town’s history. When choosing a holiday apartment, the key consideration is therefore which combination of beach, culture and excursions best suits your travel plans.

Art history between studio and ceramics

Leach Pottery was founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada. Many consider it the birthplace of British studio pottery. Saint Ives is therefore home to a place where the history of craftsmanship can be conveyed particularly vividly. The St Ives Museum complements this focus with an original sardine-curing cellar.

Tate St Ives also brings the cultural side of the town to life. The museum is located on Porthmeor Beach in St Ives, Cornwall, overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and displays particularly highly regarded British artworks from the 20th century. It also presents changing exhibitions of British and international modern and contemporary art. The museum also explains how St Ives became a centre of abstract art after the Second World War.

Another influential name is Barbara Hepworth. In 1949, she established a studio and sculpture garden in St Ives, where she lived and worked until the end of her life. The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden contains more than 30 works made from wood, stone, plaster and bronze. This provides a clear choice for planning your trip: you can combine a day at the beach with individual art visits or make the art scene a focus of its own.

Beaches, harbour and coastal paths

Porthmeor Beach is a soft sandy beach protected by two headlands. Swimming, exploring rock pools and stand-up paddleboarding are possible there. The South West Coast Path also runs through Porthmeor. This makes it possible to combine time by the water with a coastal walk without losing sight of the cultural attractions.

Harbour Beach offers an easily accessible place for swimming and building sandcastles. At Harbour Beach, you can watch local fishermen land mackerel and sea bass in a still-active harbour. These two beach areas represent different holiday experiences: at Porthmeor Beach, water activities and the coastal path come together, while Harbour Beach combines harbour atmosphere with time on the sand.

Anyone who wants to experience the coast from the water can take daily boat trips with St Ives Boats from St Ives harbour to Seal Island for seal watching. For travel orientation, the branch line between St Erth and St Ives is also of interest, running close to the coast as far as St Ives. These different perspectives can help you choose accommodation according to the desired rhythm of your trip: with art, beach, harbour observation or excursions on the water.

History and local traditions

The St Ives Museum is located in the heart of the former fishing community of Downlong. The building was formerly used as a sardine-curing cellar, a chapel of the Bible Christians, a laundry and a cinema. Together with the still-active harbour, it creates a multifaceted picture of Saint Ives, where former uses and contemporary coastal life stand side by side.

Culinary traditions are also part of the town’s annual calendar: the St Ives Food Festival takes place every year in St Ives. If you would like to include local food culture alongside beaches and museums, this festival can be a separate reason for planning a trip. For families with different interests, Saint Ives thus offers a variety of ways to spend the day without every activity having to share the same focus.

Further destinations for planning your trip

If you would like to compare other destinations besides Saint Ives, you can also find out more about Luxulyan, Sancreed, Saint Gennys, St Columb Major, Gorran Haven, Liskeard, Trewarmett and Trelash.

For the overview of destinations: Cornwall.