Enchanting St Ives in west Cornwall, UK, is our next destination. Approaching the town from the Carbis Bay road we drop past the Tregenna Castle Hotel and then, glancing right to see what awaits us below at the end of our journey we get our first glimpse of this famous UK artists mecca, home to the world famous Barbera Hepworth, sculpturer and also home to the Tate Museum. The sight that catches our eye makes us want to pull over the car and indeed we would do so, if it were not for the double yellow lines extending all the way down the final approach road to the town, for what we saw there, was a scene as picturesque as any that could be found anywhere. On this day the tide was clearly only halfway in, halfway out. The waters of the harbour shimmered and glimmered in the early morning spring sunshine, the backdrop to the harbour, with fishing boats galore, sheltered by the town pier, and a backdrop maze of houses that looked like they had all been piled up on top of one another creating the appearance of a cliffside of property, all jumbled up together.

Upon parking the car, stretching our legs, we set off to explore the town, wondering if it might be wise to take along with us a ball of string just in case we lost our way in the myriad of tiny streets. The actual harbourside of St Ives we felt was a bit commercialised and lacked the character of the rest of the town, but the back streets more than made up for this early disappointment, and certainly the setting of the harbour more than made up for any over commercialization.

Here we were present with art galleries galorem, indeed it appeared that every second shop no matter how small was an art gallery, many of which were displaying particularly talented and fine peices. The streets themselves were a joy to behold and every now and again, we could get our bearings from looking down a very narrow ope to see the harbour tide waters twinkling, it was as if the whole town was smiling. Amidst the granite cottages, brightly painted doorways, and steps with spring flowers abounded in clay pots. Already there was a bustle on the streets, surfers mingling with musicians, artists with poets and holiday makers such as ourselves just wandering aimlessly around.

The town seemed to have everything that we needed to stock up on our provisions and we were quite happy in the knowledge to know that we would be spending the whole day here, such was the captivating charm of the place. With several beaches to choose from from large to cosy we knew we were spoilt for choice. In the end we plumped for the tiny town beach immediately in front of the harbour, choosing this spot as it was sheltered from the westerly breeze now starting to pick up from behind us. Everywhere we looked we were simply just captivated by the view, the little light house on the end of the quay, the cottages behind us, whose rear walls descended straight into the sand, a pretty light pink in colour, a palm tree fluttered it leaves lightly and to be honest, we thought we much be in heaven and had to pinch ourselves to know that this place was for real. The tide was still coming in and one by one the boats would float upright and then very gently sway in the wind, all brightly coloured and looking almost chirpy one could say for want of a better expression.

At lunchtime we decided to have a bite to eat and again were spoilt for choice on the number of fine quality restaurants to choose from, in the end choosing a particularly cosy place with stunning views and at the back a small courtyard painted a gleaming white and adorned with flowers and fine sculpture, the food was excellent.

Lazing the afternoon away in the sunshine we set off trying to find our way back to our car, ready for our next adventure the following day when we would be exploring the coast from Gwithian and Godrevy Lighthouse, once again heading north eastwards up the coast of Cornwall.

St Ives though we would highly recommend anyone to visit. http://www.england-villages.co.uk

Andrew is the owner of http://www.england-villages.co.uk a community resource and information website covering many places in England and it’s rural countryside. A huge website it is growing to include every place name in England, eventually becoming a massive depository of information about this stunning and dramatic historical country. With fresh original content being added all the time, the site is rapidly growing in popularity. Offering too free back links to businesses, charities and community groups websites with no hidden catches, they offer too, fully featured listings at very good cost effective prices / rates. Banner advertising is also available in prime positions. Please visit them today: http://www.england-villages.co.uk