Wednesday 13 May 2026

Rest day number 3 St Ives

Pretty St Ives has attracted artists for years because of the clarity of its light. There are dozens of galleries and artists’ studios. The flagship gallery is the Tate St Ives under the same management as the Tate Modern in London. It exhibits work by modern artists with links to the St Ives area. They also manage the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St Ives. Barbara Hepworth worked in stone and bronze and many of her works are very large. The museum is in her studio which has been left as it was when she died in the 1970s. In 2018 we spent a lot of time at her museum and the Tate St Ives so did not go back there this time. Both are absolutely superb.

St Ives is very popular and even at this time of year and mid week it is crowded with visitors. We went out for a walk after breakfast but it was showery and very windy, gusting 62km/hr up on St Ives Head. It was also cold, about 10° feels like 1° in the wind. We checked out the route for leaving town tomorrow and retreated to our warm hotel room. By lunch time the showers were gone, the sun came out, the wind died and the narrow streets, cafes and bars filled with people.

Probably the most popular section of the South West Coast Path is from Padstow to St Ives. This takes about 6 days and has a lovely town at each end and in between a taste of pretty much all the SWCP has to offer but in a gentler version than the more strenuous stretches.  You get the rugged cliffs, steep valleys, tiny inaccessible beaches, cliff top walking, vast sandy beaches and dunes, little fishing villages, military areas, tin mining heritage, turquoise seas, seals, sea birds, cafes, bars, toilets and fellow walkers to make friends with.

After a lazy day today we are back to reality tomorrow. A 24km stretch, of rough rocky terrain, endless ups and downs, boggy fields, isolated with no villages or cafes along the way. We can’t wait to get into it.