St. Ives by the Sea

---

St. Ives, Cornwall, home of Poldark, Rebecca, and the Pirates of Penzance



The train to St. Ives from Bathe involved more than one change...each one successfully completed... and one change included a downpour on metal roof at the Exeter station.

Now that I am back in Canada I can safely say that I encountered only sunshine, dull to drab or drizzle weather for the whole of my seventy day wander thru the UK.







Out of the train and a search for the path to the hotel begins. Up the road past long term parking, over the rise, past the local bus terminal ( actually just a big parking-lot space for the buses to turn around and begin their return journey from where ever they came from) down a curved hill past a church, a tall scaffolding erected against a house, a gallery featuring photos ...huge photos … of waves, a left turn at the library and there it is ...Western Hotel … not looking as photographed … not an iota does it look like the pic on booking.com



Using a small entrance, being engulfed in pub smells, pub darkness and two pub crawlers my thoughts of an enjoyable stay in St. Ives are dashed.



But all is not lost. Wrong door. Exit. Find correct door. OOPS...not much better. Dim. Cluttered with Artificial Xmas decorations and no receptionist in sight.



Finally! … he shows up...takes my money ...gives me a key … never see him again ...in three days or on my departure.



Up many stairs to third floor ...what is it with the third floor… over an unclean carpet … and to a door in a small alcove.



The room is neat and clean and very tiny. It is so small that the hangers are too wide for the closet space and the door can not be closed …;-)



Disinfect everything and go across the street to the CO-OP grocery to buy food.



Then its off for a wander along the beach side of this town by the sea.



Walking along the cement promenade, observing the receded tide line and avoiding other strollers (not baby buggies) I spy sitting at an outdoor table a man and his beautifully coiffed wife.



OMG!



Its a dog …. with the most lovely blonde hair, sitting on the chair, on the inside, bedside the restaurant window, with a wine glass correctly placed exactly in front of her.



It took a fraction of a nanosecond to realize my error and I burst out laughing. Of course I had to explain to the husband what had just occurred in my brain.



A lengthy pleasant conversation ensued … until the actual wife returned. She had blonde hair, was lovely and also very pleasant. She laughed at my visual miss-thought. After continued banter back and forth it was discovered they lived in Bath and an invitation was offered me on my return to the UK in Spring. Can of course not plaster the photo all over the internet!...too bad!







And the rest of the three days in St. Ives are history... historic stone buildings, historic antiques in every third shop window, galleries hoping to make history with their client sales, and the historically updated TATE St. Ives filled with contemporary works that may or may not last into future history … the palm tree with light bulbs illuminating its fronds is extremely questionable.







Not being a contemporary art fan I proceeded to the toilets and then to the little cafe on the top floor. All the window seats were taken … of course! From here one has a most perfect view of one of the two perfect beaches here in St. Ives.







https://www.google.ca/search?q=st+ives+uk

“St Ives is a town in Cornwall, England, known for its surf beaches, like Porthmeor, and its art scene. The seafront Tate St Ives gallery has rotating modern art exhibitions, focusing on British artists. Nearby, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, in the modernist artist’s former studio, displays her bronzes and other works. Boat trips go to Seal Island, just west of town, to see the seal colony.”







https://www.visitcornwall.com/places/st-ives
“Winner of a showcase of national awards including best family holiday destination by Coast magazine and one of the 10 best European beach destinations compiled by TripAdvisor, St Ives is a seemingly subtropical oasis where the beaches are golden, the vegetation is lush and the light piercingly bright.



It’s no wonder then that the town has been attracting artists for decades who come to capture the area’s undeniable natural beauty. It started with J M W Turner and the marine artist Henry Moore who first came to St Ives in the mid-1800s and since then the town has become a magnet for some of the world’s greatest painters, sculptors and ceramists.”







The Barbara Hepworth was closed. The Museum will open again at Easter. Almost all the shops selling art, clothes, cafe, or fudge were open. AND there were many many many people milling about. The news has not spread that its November and tourist season is over.



In three days I visited two craft sales... missed the farmers market. Did drop into a gallery that featured the work of … OMG...cannot remember the name....but am on the newsletter list. The sculptures of the artist ranged from life sized soft roboted figures to small bronze humans in agonizing positions the height of your old tv remote.











Met many interesting people. Wandered over cobbled stones, past colourfully painted doors, Spoke to men putting up steel scaffolding in anticipation of re-tiling the roof. Dropped into a small shop/studio thinking ceramic beads were on offer. The ceramics were pots. The beads were imported. The studio housed drop-ins and lessons. A very comfortable atmosphere that would merit some thought ...i.e. consider opening such a space at home base. The woman at the computer, beside the till, seems to be surviving. She gives instruction and the budding artists have an opportunity to sell their masterpieces ...OK... maybe not in the league of a 400million dollar Leonardo but enough to buy more oils/acrylics.



The wanders for the two full days were exhilarating. The trek up the formerly down curved hill was not overly taxing … even with the “monster”on my back. The backpack had become more and more of a burden until it was officially renamed ...the monster. And it is the smallest of my packs. Must be those magazines I have been accumulating!



The track back to the transfer station was exceptional. Along the shore line of the Atlantic...???...what else?



From this dreamy excursion the journey continued to the next excitement …



Lyme Regis AND fossils!



Post Script : did take the bus to Land's End via Penzance so that I could say I had been at the extreme tips of the island ... John o'Groats to Land's End ...

there is an association - http://www.lejog.org/

All the buildings were closed and/or under renovation. The hotel was serving food. The picture kiosk was open and for a price one could have a picture taken with the milageto ones hometown shown on the marker. This Marker was a free standing place in John o'Groats. Here a family was making money and the marker had been cordened off.

To better view the rugged coast I chose to walk from Land's End to Sennen.

Click here to see all that I saw during my hike over the South Coast Trail. http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/westcornwall/landsend.htm

---

Photos

View from Breakfast Room Window
...spent some time here to write a blog because the Western Hotel room was so small there was not even a chair let alone a table to sit at.

A Splendid Collector
The woman in this store had it all ... her shop was filled with the favourite things she was prepared to sell ... told me she had oodles more at home.

View from the Top
... this view looked towards the train station in St. Ives

Giant Renditions
...of plants found in my garden ... well maybe not the thing in the blue pot.

Rusted and Forlorn
...but authentic to a working harbour... all the boats were stranded on the sand ... this one may or may not be repaired or derelict.

Seagulls Everywhere and Always
... many signs discourage the feeding of the gulls ... they are known to become aggressive.

Such a View
...taken from the bus enroute to Land's End.

Stairs at Sennen
The photo stop man mentioned stairs at Sennen ....who knew it would be a set oif stairs to rival the climb or decsent at Montmarte in Paris.

...there be Pirates in St.Ives
This is a close up of a long mural that had been painted so long ago smome faces and details are obscured.