Things to do

• The harbour sand
  Less than 170 steps from the front door of Halfway Cottage
  
• Porthmeor beach
  0.1 miles from Halfway Cottage. This beach is overlooked by the Island which you can climb up to experience 360 views of St. Ives
  
• Porthminster beach
  0.2 miles from Halfway Cottage. This beach is connected to the harbour sands at low tide. Look out for the ‘stone-balancer’ works of art
  
• Porthgwidden beach
  0.3 miles from Halfway Cottage. Look out for seals swimming just off the shore.
  
• Bamaluz beach
  0.3 miles from Halfway Cottage. This small, often unnoticed sandy beach is situated just below the St. Ives museum.

Halfway Cottage is located on Fore Street – right in the centre of St. Ives.

“Experience the perfect retail therapy in St Ives: from independent art galleries, bookstores, craft shops and fashion boutiques, home furnishing retail stores and outdoor camping shops to bespoke gift shops and Cornish produce outlets. Take your pick from the many surf shops selling boards, equipment and surfer fashion.” – St.Ives-cornwall.co.uk

St. Ives farmer’s market
Every Thursday in the Guildhall, 9:30am – 2pm
https://www.stivesfarmersmarket.co.uk/

​”St Ives is an active town with a huge variety of easily accessible outdoor pursuits on both land or sea. Pick your favourite beach, to sunbathe, have a dip, or just relax. For the more energetic, learn to surf, stand-up paddle board, or rent a kayak.

For an invigorating walk, head out on the Coastal Path or inland on any number of idyllic country paths. Embrace nature in the extreme by coasteering; the active sport of exploring a rocky coastline that involves climbing, jumping and swimming.

For bike enthusiasts there is a vast network of cycle routes to suit all standards, across all terrains.”​ – St.Ives-cornwall.co.uk

GeoCaching can be great fun especially with kids as it’s fundamentally a treasure hunt and the best bit is it’s totally free. Go to the Geocaching site for more info and links to the free app.

Walking
“St Ives is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty with a multitude of nature trails to explore. Choose the landscape; from mesmerising coastal geology to inland shaded woods. Walk beside towering clifftops with breathtaking sea views. Discover rugged moorland heaths where vivid pink and yellow wildflowers sway in the breeze.” – St.Ives-cornwall.co.uk

​There are beautiful walking routes around the Cornish countryside. A popular app is iWalkCornwall which features circular walks around Cornwall. Each walk page provides useful information, maps, photos and the walk difficulty rating. There is a small charge to download each route.

Seals and dolphins
We’ve spotted lots of seals in and around St. Ives harbour, but head out to Godrevy for the best seal-spotting experience. Dolphins can sometimes be spotted and there are organised trips available to book at the harbour.

The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden contains the largest group of Hepworth’s works, permanently on display where she lived and worked from 1949 until 1975.

Bernard Leach Pottery & Museum
Bernard Leach is regarded as the father of British studio pottery, established the Leach Pottery on the outskirts of St Ives in 1920, extending the site over the years.

​The St. Ives Museum is home to donated exhibits relating to the fishing history of St Ives from long before it was the tourist destination it is today.

There are a number of small galleries along Fore Street and the harbour front where you can watch local artists at work and buy their pieces to take home.

“Thanks to its breathtaking scenery and unique, clear light, St Ives has always attracted artists. The result is a vibrant community of artists that continues to produce inspirational work – and an incredible selection of galleries to discover.” – St.Ives-cornwall.co.uk

• Tate St Ives
• Art Space Gallery
• Desiree Hope Gallery

The St. Ives library is also a local information centre. They offer a variety of workshops and the main library area also has a well-stocked children’s section.

St Ives Leisure Centre

At the St Ives Leisure Centre you will find two swimming pools: a 25 metre main swimming pool and a smaller leisure pool, with a range of slides and water play features.

The gym is equipped with 53 Technogym™ equipment stations and the centre runs 20 weekly Fitness Classes such as Tai Chi, Pilates and Circuits.
See their website for details – https://www.better.org.uk

St Ives has its very own Cinema within walking distance of Halfway Cottage.
The address is:
Royal Square, St. Ives TR26 2ND

St. Ives Lifeboat Station

Lifeboat crews at St Ives have been saving lives at sea since 1839. The station currently operates two boats: a Shannon class all-weather lifeboat and a D class inshore lifeboat. See their website for more information.

The nearest golf course is in Tregenna Castle, which is about a 5 minute drive from Halfway Cottage.

Tregenna Castle Estate has a 18-hole golf course surrounding the grounds, with magnificent views of the countryside and Bay. It is a ‘pay and play’ course and club hire is available. See website for details & terms and conditions – https://www.tregenna-castle.co.uk.

West Cornwall Golf Club is a stunning links course on the Hayle Estuary at Lelant, just a short drive away from Halfway Cottage. Visitors to St. Ives are welcome to enjoy the course and the club house, and it has a reputation for being friendly and welcoming.

There are a number of National Trust sites near Halfway Cottage.
See the National Trust site for more information on sites including Land’s End and St. Michael’s Mount

If you wish to venture a little further afield there are several attractions worth visiting, including:

• Flambards theme park
• Paradise Park wildlife sanctuary – this park also has a soft play and indoor play area called ‘Jungle Barn’
• The Eden Project – this is about a one hour drive from Halfway Cottage