St. Ives & sunshine

          On our little island, its not unusual to find all four seasons in one day, but on our one full day in St. Ives, the British summertime did us proud.

          We had hoped for a boat trip out to see Seal Island, but whether because of the low tide or just because they were all booked up maybe, the boat trip sellers were all absent from their little advertising boards so we headed for the shopping streets.

          The narrow cobbled streets Hubby had negotiated with the car the day before became my playground as I steered him in and out of the shops with their beautiful window displays. The higher price of the B&B was reflected in the quality of the gifts and crafts on offer.

          My eyes were particularly drawn to the beautiful displays of both pottery and glass-fusion, two crafts I would love to have a go at in the future but am still in awe of the talent, and the amount of practice I will need to be anywhere near as good as the art on show.

          I also enjoyed the talent of one artist, painting away in his little shop as we watched. His imagination used the cobbled harbour and surrounding streets and buildings to take us back to the time of huge sailing ships, the characters in his pictures telling us tales of times gone by. In one picture in particular, he pointed out the seven cats which have now settled into my muddled memories of St Ives.

          Calories are guilt-free on holiday. Just as well because tucked away in the middle of the shops we found St. La’s Parish Church. They had turned their lawn into a little cafe with a beautiful view out towards the harbour. We didn’t partake at that time and planned to return later since I had already picked up a Lotus biscuit latte at one coffee establishment, and couldn’t resist the chance to try a custard and jam cruffin (a new delicacy … A cross between a croissant and a muffin)… Having completely forgotten the lotus cream cookie Hubby had purchased on my request and put into his pocket for me (out of sight, and completely forgotten about) which of course, just had to be eaten as well before it melted and soaked through his pocket.

          We wandered the paths around the coast, taking in the many beaches on offer, enjoying the views of the coastline train and colourful beach huts of varying shapes and sizes.

          We paused for a while at Bamaluz beach to watch a local baby seal playing with a couple of paddle boarders who were trying to negotiate the gentle waves.

          And headed past the carpark and across Porthgwidden Beach to walk up to the top of an area called “The Island”. We stood next to St. Nicholas Chapel on top and I pointed the camera in all directions.

          You can always count on an old church to have a good view.

          We might not have got our boat trip from St. Ives out to see seal Island, but from our carpark on our last morning I watched for a while as the “Cormorants” dried themselves on the little island just out to sea. Whenever I see our cormorants on our very own Cormorant Island in the middle of Radipole Lake, I will be reminded of the lovely view from our carpark in St. Ives.

          More from Before: staycation at St. Ives in “Cornwall“, June ’22.

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St Ives

          “As I was going to St Ives, I met a cat with seven lives … Not the traditional riddle I know, but the words got jumbled in my head and when they surfaced again this version made me smile.

          It seems that the summer of 2022 is to be remembered by many for staycating at the great British seaside. We joined the ‘many’ and headed further south than our own seaside for a couple of days in St. Ives.

          We arrived in the rain and Hubby crawled the car through small, one-way, cobbled streets full of people, following our directions first to our B&B, and then to our pre-booked parking space. Hubby puts a lot of research into holidays and although the room came with quite a substantial price tag, and without breakfast, it was quirky and in a good location. As we pulled into our accompanying parking spot, the rain stopped and the clouds lifted. Even the carpark had a good view, and St. Ives was thouroughly forgiven.

          We wandered along a little path, up and down steps and past Bamaluz beach (one of St. Ives’ many beaches – and incidentally a dog friendly one), back to the main hub of activity, Harbour sands. At low tide the sea disappears completely and families play on the sand building sandcastles amongst the tilted boats, then the sea comes in and the view changes as small yachts mingle with speed boats.

          The eateries selling various forms of liquid refreshment were everywhere, and of course, tables with a view screamed out for the camera, although we didn’t sample the food here, this picture was taken from the window of the “Rum & Crab Shack” as the sky gained a slight tinge of pink.

          I opted for some traditional seaside fish and chips … in a cardboard box. No good old fashioned paper and none of yesterday’s news stories, but the lid of the box did afford me some very much needed protection from the local seagulls as I attacked my fish with two tiny wooden forks, upturned into a pair of chopsticks.

          As the sun dipped, and the clouds rolled back in, we headed up the windy stairs in our quirky B&B to check out the next day’s weather forecast. Staycations in Britain don’t necessarily need good weather … but it most definitely helps.

          More from Before: staycation in St. Ives, “Cornwall” in June ’22.

What bird is this ?

          Staying on St. Michaels Mount and following on from yesterday’s poke around in the files, I quite easily caught this bird on camera.  It appeared to be snoozing after a dip in the sea.

          Can anyone tell me what bird it is please ?

           More from before : a long weekend in “Falmouth“, “Cornwall” in September 2014.