Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shopping
B2
Sights & Activities
St Ives boasts three fine town beaches. Furthest west is
Porthmeor
, just below the Tate, a
broad sweep of yellow sand that's popular with the town's surfers, and has a small cafe
beside the road.
Nearby, around the grassy headland known as the Island, is the little cove of
Porthgwid-
den
, which is the smallest and often the quietest of the town's beaches. At the rear of the
01736-796791;
www.porthgwiddencafe.co.uk
; Porthgwidden Beach; mains £8.95-10.95; 9am-10pm in summer,
closed all day Mon in winter)
: you can sit down inside for light meals of fresh mussels and had-
dock chowder, or just get a takeaway from the serving hatch.
The largest and loveliest of St Ives' beaches is
Porthminster
, with a horseshoe of soft
golden sand that's sheltered by the cliffs. It's also where you'll find one of the town's
swishest restaurants, the Porthminster Beach Café (
Click here
)
.
Two miles east of town is the busy resort of
Carbis Bay
, worth a visit for its sheltered (if
touristy) Blue Flag beach.
Tate St Ives
MAP
GALLERY
GOOGLE MAP
( 01736-796226;
www.tate.org.uk/stives
; Porthmeor Beach; adult/child £7/4.50; 10am-5pm Mar-Oct, to 4pm
Tue-Sun Nov-Feb)
There's no shortage of galleries in St Ives, but the Tate St Ives is the
centrepiece. Hovering like a white concrete curl above Porthmeor Beach, the gallery's ar-
chitecture echoes its seaside setting. Themed exhibitions are matched with a permanent
collection rich in works by artists connected with the St Ives School. Terry Frost, Naum
Gabo, Patrick Heron, Ben Nicholson, the potter Bernard Leach and the naive Cornish
painter Alfred Wallis are all represented, alongside sculptures by Barbara Hepworth (you
can buy a joint ticket with the Barbara Hepworth Museum for £10/7 for adult/child). The
top-floor cafe has a glass-walled patio overlooking Porthmeor Beach.
