Do not feed the seagulls!
by Sjalen
The signs everywhere are there for a reason. The best way to anger locals is to feed the seagulls everywhere. You will soon leave St Ives and think it was just a bit of fun to get a great photo of you with an almost "tame" seagull eating out of your hand, but the locals then have to live with their children getting attacked and so on once you have gone. I know I have already written about this under "warnings" but I feel I need to add this here to just to stress that no one will make friends with you if you deliberately feed seagulls. I personally like the birds and appreciate that they have just picked up this habit from human behaviour, but I still wouldn't contribute to feeding them since they are clearly already perfectly capable of seeing to their own dinners.
Fish & chips
by Sjalen about Kingfisher
The Kingfisher became our favourite chippie in this harbour town since it comes with harbour views as well as good fish (and various other stuff along those lines). Since the actual seating area is upstairs (no lift) you have great harbour views if you manage to get a window table. Getting a table can take a few minutes here and involve waiting in the doorway since it's a popular place and the waitresses do not appreciate you lingering after your meal, which is perfectly understandable when you see the crowds. In no way are they rude though since this is family business, but you can just see it on their slightly too open glances at your table when you're done. In winter it is only open for lunch whilst in summer it is open well into the evening. This is a classical place as far as interior goes and you get just what you expect here - cod, haddock, mushy peas, pots and pots of tea...Glorious. Fish & chips is just never wrong. I prefer cod but will take less endangered species today to feel better. Kids can get smaller portions.
Maritime
by Sjalen about Hobblers House
It is hard to be spontaneous in St Ives Harbour on a busy summer evening but spontaneous was what we were most days since we made daytrips and never knew quite when we would get back or how hungry we would be in the evenings. Consequently, we never reserved a table and that is otherwise a good thing to do here since it is a popular place. We were also not quite dressed up for the occasion since we noticed that most people had made more of an effort, but nevertheless, we were welcomed just like everyone else and it was not particularly posh compared to big city fine dining but more a case of us feeling slightly out of place in casual excursion wear.
Hobblers were kind of inofficial pilots, who pulled bigger ships in and this they did to this old building, hence the name of the place. It is run by a lady who looked to us like a former ballet dancer or something in the way she moved, acted and dressed in a slightly hippie-ish way and why not, St Ives attracts all kinds of artistic people. We were greeted by her but then got one of the waiters to serve us and that was good, efficient service if somewhat strict - the wine recommendations were excellent.
The place is a well known building (and restaurant) in town and has existed for centuries so the two floor building is narrow and quite cramped and not for people with mobility difficulties. The few tables that overlook the harbour are quite romantic and typically only for two people so if you are a bigger company you will end up further back but that is also nice since it is all very cosy in dark red and wood and with a maritime theme. The food served here is mostly local produce like Cornish beef and local fish dishes, coupled with some international classics now and again. We stopped here and thought it worth a look since I remembered seeing it on VT and despite the slighlty higher than average prices we wanted to give it a go to avoid another day of pub grub and lovely but huge fish & chips. Since we managed to arrive early there was a table and we went for main course and dessert. I had a fish pie with scallops and mushrooms in a white wine sauce under a bed of mash. Similar to a Swedish "fish gratin" but distinctly English I enjoyed it whilst hubby had a cod dish (where I wonder how local that was since I know a lot of English cod is bought from China but let's hope...) and our daughter settled for Thai fish cakes and both enjoyed theirs too. Us adults then finished off with a Bramley apple pie which was superb. Probably not home made due to the small kitchen but perhaps baked for the restaurant somewhere since there was detail in the making. Served with clotted cream I still dream about it...
Porthgwidden Beach
by Sjalen
Porthgwidden is a rather small beach and can get crowded but because it is a bit "tucked away" you still don't feel too cramped since many end up on the other beaches. Don't come here by car in high season though since the car park quickly gets full and even needs its own wardens. Up by the car park is a shop selling beach toys and things and then you pass a toilet block and continue down the hill to the beach itself, passing the beach café which, like so many other beach cafés here, has an upstairs section with nice views and a beach section serving swimmers and onlookers with anything from wine to ice cream. This is also where you find a range of beach huts needed to be booked in advance.
Porthgwidden is too small to have life guards but there is a cordoned off area with buoys at either end and inside this is where it is safe not least for children. Outside it there are cliffs with strong undercurrents and quite lively traffic in and out of the harbour at times too. A small but scenic beach which can also be reached by a nice walkway from behind the harbour pier and town museum as long as you are able to manage stairs.
St Ives Society of Artists
by Sjalen
St Ives has been known to house a colony of artists for at least a century by now, attracted here in the first place by the special light. This group has grown, shrunk and grown again throughout the years, depending on the state of the World and driving forces leading it. Today it has around 60 members which are mainly local since that is a criterium. The marine painter Bradshaw first founded an art society in 1927 to show art which also the artists themselves considered valuable but which not always got the attraction it deserved. A lot of famous artists have since been chairing this society.
The early 20th century Mariners church where the society is based today was never completed. During WWII it was used as a field hospital and after the war, the society got to move in and today has its centre here with a spring- , summer-, and autumn exhibitions. It is open Mondays to Saturdays from early March to early January and all week throughout summer. Several members of course also have their own galleries and studios scattered around town and open for visits and you can learn more about this here.
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Lifeguards surf too you know!
Norway - yup, that's the name
View back towards the harbour
The workshop
