We love a trip to St Ives at The Loft, and Easter Saturday was particularly glorious. We drove to St Erth railway station where you can park for £2.30 for the day, and the train is just £2 each way if you buy a return – well worth it if you know how narrow the roads are in St Ives and how little parking is available… St Erth station has a gorgeous tea room – it’s like stepping back into the 1940s, with lots of railway memorabilia – so you can grab a coffee if you miss a train. This is one of the prettiest train rides in the UK, running through Lelant Saltings and Carbis Bay – great sweeps of beach and coastal scenery – so have your cameras at the ready.
At St Ives, we had breakfast at the Porthminster Beach Café – this is a lovely restaurant overlooking the beach, and you can leave your beach stuff in view and nip in for food. Check out their monkfish curry if you’re going for lunch – you’ll see their cookbook in our kitchen if you want a sneak-preview. And it goes without saying the fish and seafood is great. There’s a great little beach shop next to the restaurant if you fancy setting up camp for the day or want to hire deck chairs or buy sun cream. This is a gentler beach than Sennen, and the waves seem smaller after our rollers, but it’s great for kids or hiring a paddle-board. Check out the mini-golf too!
There’s a reason St Ives draws the crowds in the summer; it’s always lovely to have a wonder into the galleries and shops. We love the St Ives Bookshop in particular, full of great local authors and fabulous passionate staff. While you’re wandering, look out for our favourite rum: Dead Man’s Fingers, which is made locally and sold in the Rum & Crab Shack and John’s Wines. You can’t not have a pasty, but watch the seagulls don’t join for it – they are very bold and will take it out of your hand if you’re not careful – watch your fingers! We’ve lost an ice-cream that way too. And if you’re after fudge to take home, you can’t beat Rolly’s Fudge in Fore Street.
We’ve also done a few boat trips out to see the seals nearby. But be warned, if a Cornish fisherman tells you it’s going to get ‘a bit lumpy’, he’s not kidding… It can pick up a bit of swell outside the harbour wall, so be warned if you’ve not got your sea-legs. The boats won’t disturb the seals but it’s great to see them basking in the sun or popping up alongside the boat to take a look at you in return.
Need to Know:
You need to allow 25 minutes in a car from The Loft to St Erth, and the train ride is 14 minutes.
To pay for car parking at St Erth quickly, download the APCOA Connect app before you go and register your vehicle.
Alternatively, you can get the bus to St Ives in summer months from Sennen. It takes just over an hour.
View across the sands at low tide at St Ives