We returned to Cornwall last summer to re-discover the beautiful area of St Ives Bay, located in North-West Cornwall. It’s a blissful location, if you wish to visit the famous gems of Cornwall, have long beach walks, do some hiking, go to family-friendly places and enjoy some beautiful scenery. Yes, this part of Cornwall has it all and below you’ll find my absolute favourites:
Beach
There are many of them, St Ives alone has several of them, so it’s a true heaven for beach lovers (like me)! My favourite is Godrevy, it stretches long, so walking is very pleasant, and so is the swimming (for surfers, Gwithian might be a better option). You can park at the far end NT parking and go for a walk (see below).
Walk
From Godrevy NT car park you can walk to see the seal colony (remember to be quiet, as seals can be easily distracted by loud voices) or enjoy the views of the lighthouse. Or, you can walk further, along the coast path. Scenic views guaranteed!
Tate
Visiting St Ives is a must if you’re in North-West Cornwall and this summer we went to the famous Tate St Ives art gallery. We started with a quick lunch at their top floor café, which has beautiful views of the town and the sea. The gallery has an activity room for children (with some very friendly staff members), so our pre-schooler was very happy to have some creative time there, while our baby girl had a very comfortable nap among the paintings, so I had chance to slowly go around the galleries and admire the art. I was especially fascinated by the gallery’s temporary exhibition devoted to the Lebanese artist, Huguette Caland.
Train
As much as I enjoy being by the sea, I also like travelling by train! While in Cornwall this summer, we could see the little train going by the coast every day and we knew we wanted to experience it. So we travelled from St Erth to St Ives and the views were truly amazing. We also went from St Erth to Penzance (in both instances the train journey didn’t last longer than 10 minutes).
Sunsets
The sunsets in this part of Cornwall are epic (unless it’s very cloudy or rainy!). The colours of the sky slowly changing, wide landscape and the sparkly silver sea. You can stare at the sky and wonder how nature can be so generous with its amazingness.
Have you visited this part of Cornwall? What did you enjoy most? Do let me know in the comments below.
Kinga Macalla