You forget how much children love the sea. It’s too easy to concentrate on the negatives instead – how long it takes to get there, how many hours you need to spend in traffic jams for the pleasure, the packing, the organising... need I go on?
But within seconds of arriving in St Ives, they were all running down the beach to the shining turquoise water, arms waving, heading for the glistening waves, where they stayed contentedly for the rest of the day.
And we were the only ones on the beach, on a picture postcard day of bright blue skies and white sands.
How? We went out of season.
Not that you’d know it was April, weather-wise. And it was a gift of a long weekend because all the usual holiday hassles were absent, namely the crowds, the high season prices, the jostling for a place on the beach, the parking, and the queues, the obligatory restaurant reservations.
In fact the only problem we experienced by coming out of season, was that the seagulls had fewer victims to prey on, and actually nipped the top off one of our Cornish pasties, much to the delight of the kids.
We arrived in St Ives on Friday afternoon having never been before. To be honest I avoid Cornwall like the plague during the silly season when the thought of battling the hoorays is just too much for me. Give me Wales anyday, where the beaches are bare in comparison.
And yet St Ives had always been glimmering away on my horizon, its light being so famously breath-taking, spurring generations of artists to flock to this coastal town to capture the ever-changing views.
And while St Ives remains true to form, with art crowding into every corner of every street and shop window, museums vying for your attention, neither has the tourist element been allowed free rein.
Everything is tasteful, but authentic – the cobbled streets being jammed with local shops selling everything from fruit and veg to clothes and, obviously, art.
The bewildering array of restaurants and cafes gives visitors too much choice, but the one thing you can’t get away from is the sheer splendour of the coastline.
Drawn to it every morning as soon as we opened our eyes, once the obligatory collection of wetsuits, sandwiches, towels, buckets, spades, beach chairs and my beach donkey of a husband were assembled, we bolted down, captivated by the vast skies, long coast and the sheer variety of beaches on offer.
Porthminster beach was first on the list and even has its own tasteful train which pulls up intermittently to the top of the beach to eject its eager passengers.
A wedding was going on as we played in the sea, the bride gorgeous in the beaming sunshine.
At lunchtime on Saturday we simply sauntered up to the Porthminster Beach Cafe, whose summer booking lists rival Jamie’s Fifteen in Watergate Bay and Rick Stein’s in Padstow, and took the prime table at the front framing the panoramic views – its food matching its reputation.
Evenings were spent at the fish and chip shop, sitting on the wall overlooking the sea in the St Ives harbour, or in our sweet little cottage Treth Ingo, situated on one of the windy streets in the centre, a hop, skip and a jump away from the sea and shops.
Sunday breakfast was taken in the Tate Gallery Cafe whose views took your breath away, before an entertaining peruse around the latest exhibition, kids games thrown in for good measure.
I even managed to snatch a rare half an hour in the Barbara Hepworth Gallery, most of her work being displayed outside in the artists garden, her sculptures making perfect sense in this Cornish idyll.
My only words of advice would be not to venture out of St Ives. We set off on one ill-advised trip to the seal sanctuary, which looked close on the map but turned out to be an hour away, and where they tried to charge us £70 for the pleasure! We scurried straight back and promised not to leave St Ives again until we had to. After all, it boasts some of the most famous beaches in the world, so why leave?
While the little un’s built sand castles, the older boys created ambitious dams, explored the rock pools, body surfed, and swam for hours.
We ate splendid cakes at the Porthmeor Beach Cafe, where the wind eventually got the better of us, and crept round to the more sheltered Porthwiggen Beach. But as everything is near, accessible and easy, it was a breeze.
Come July, I’m sure the St Ives we fell in love with will be transformed into another beast entirely. But bear in mind, September/October come soon after.
- Katherine and her family stayed at Treth Ingo, in St Ives. The cottage has four beds and sleeps six. Prices start from £424 per week in low season, to £1166 in peak season. Check the Aspects Holidays website for special offers and discounts throughout the year. Go to aspects-holidays.co.uk for more information or ring 01736 754242.
- For more information on the area, go to stives-cornwall.co.uk
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