St Ives: an honest guide to Cornwall's jewel - where to stay, best places to eat, the magic of Kynance Cove and a little word of warning

Best places to stay in St Ives

First of all, location, location, location is key when you’re booking your accommodation, and Google Maps is your friend: anywhere backwards of one of the several beach fronts and - if days out on the beach are your thing - then you’re in for a trek-and-a-half on a daily basis. Porthmeor Hill, Lifeboat Hill, Barnoon Hill - Mount Pleasant, which my boys aptly renamed Mount Unpleasant - the clues are there when it comes to the topography of the place. In short, it’s hilly. Very hilly.

If you’re fit, able and active then hiking up and down the Digey, nipping up ginnels and snickets to and from Harbour Beach, sneaking through to Porthmeor, scurrying over Mount Zion, tiptoeing around the cobbles in search of the elusive secret green door - it’s all actually quite magical.

With every venture out you spot something new; from the final resting places of those poor souls aboard the Titanic to loft-top art galleries. But if you’re not fit and able, St Ives can be an intimidating, attritional place so please do be warned. I would recommend to anyone looking to spend some time there who might be disabled, infirm or in some way physically challenged, to book accommodation on the Harbour front, ideally, but do ask about access. It feels like there are steps up to the steps up in this place sometimes.

By being on the harbour, you will be close to the smorgasbord of independent shops and local amenities, and you won’t have the daunting task of scaling the heights homewards. You might…might even get a place with a parking spot. More on driving in St Ives later, mind...

Our favourite places to stay are the little boltholes that were once fishermen’s cottages, and, naturally, there is an abundance of good ones. This year we stayed on Mount Zion in what felt like a hobbit’s hole in the harbour wall, mere steps from the beach. Whitewashed walls, terracotta tiles and an open fireplace evoking thoughts of gnarly old sea dogs banging frothy tankards - overflowing with smuggled contraband - on tables, hollering out the oom-pah-pah of their sea shanties that ebb and flow with the waves of the sea.

Best beaches in St Ives

If beach days indeed are your cup of tea, then you’re spoilt for choice in St Ives which has a number of them over which you could throw a handkerchief, yet all with their own unique appeal. Porthmeor is quite literally the doorstep to the Tate, and appeals to surfers and bodyboarders, its challenging waves on a par with the likes of Newquay’s Fistral Beach. Then there’s Porthgwidden, a cracking little bay just off The Digey, overlooked by the charming chapel of St Nicholas. Porthgwidden is a little less buffeting than ‘Meor, perfect for kayaking and bodyboarding yet snugly protected by craggy rocks; rocks that are a veritable haven for curious children who are an ever-present in ‘Gwidden’s rock pools - take your little nets!

For those wanting a more serene day at the beach, head to the harbour, in particular over to the archways of Kitty’s Corner, where the best beach spot in all of St Ives awaits you. With toilets on hand, cafe bars all around you and a view painted by a thousand hands, it truly is a beautiful corner of England.

Then, in beach terms at least, St Ives’ pièce de résistance: Carbis Bay. Good enough for world leaders of the G7 and more than good enough for family Mitchinson, Carbis Bay must surely rank among the best beaches in the country. With sprawling sands as far as the eye can see, there’s room enough for everyone; football, cricket, kite-flying, there’s a watersports school, paddleboard hire, coffee and gift shops. If the sea was a little warmer, you’d swear you were in Jamaica!

But … the best bit about Carbis Bay? The best bit about Carbis Bay is the way in and out - on what must be the most scenic little railway line outside of Yorkshire. For £4-something, a return ticket for the whole family gave rise to more oohs and aahs up and down the carriages than you could shake a bucket and spade at - it is genuinely, smile-inducingly pleasant.

And then there’s Porthminster, an achingly beautiful stretch of white sand flecked with the vibrant colour of beach pod doors, its crystal clear waters tempting even the most trepidatious of swimmers. When the tide eases out, a must-do walk in St Ives is from Harbour Beach across the sands to Porthminster, the two only separated by the sea when the tide comes in.

Where to eat in St Ives – booking St Ives Beach Cafes is essential

Once you’ve put in the steps, be it on the soft sands or the undulating cobbled streets, you’ll have worked up an appetite and I’m pleased to say that you will not be short of places to eat - but here’s that thing you need to know that I was talking about … it ain’t cheap! In fact, at every menu I was given, that Yorkshire instinct to bellow ‘ow much!?’ was there.

In one particular sitting, we had two adults main courses (no starters or desserts) and two children’s dishes plus one drink each and we bust through £150. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot for me to part with for lunch at the beach, but, I have to tell you, they’re not any old lunches and you’re not setting in any old cafe.

Honestly, if you want to try out some of the best tables in town, you simply must dine at one of St Ives’ many beach cafes. With tables that take in some of the most spectacular views the UK can offer any diner, if you’re going to go to St Ives I urge you to put a few bob away to treat yourselves.

At Porthminster I have had the cafe’s fish curry with tiger prawn and jasmine rice (£36) for three years running, and it is spectacularly good. Also a highlight was at the Beach Club Restaurant on Carbis Bay; seriously, you have to try the prawns from the grill (£28) which come with two additional sides of your choice into the price.

In the interests of honesty, we didn’t overly enjoy Porthgwidden Beach Cafe. Perhaps they were having an off day, but their seafood linguine (£29) was far too lemony, like it had simply had a whole lemon’s juice squeezed over it as a final flourish. That said, the sirloin steak (£12) and salt and pepper squid and chips (£9) from the children’s menu were a hit with our boys.

Our favourite beach cafe in St Ives, though, is Porthmeor Beach Cafe. It somehow feels less formal and has a much more laid back, friendly vibe about it. It helps, too, that the tapas there is as good as you’ll be served anywhere on the continent. If you can only do one, do Porthmeor and do have the dish of serrano ham, Cornish blue cheese, grilled pear, candied walnuts and honey. Thank me later!

Along the harbour you will find the full shooting match of eateries: pizza, fish and chips, tapas and cocktails, Thai, seafood and perhaps the best-known hangout on the harbour - Rum & Crab shack, serving up jambalayas, gumbos, jerk this and pulled that. Think Aussie surf shack meets Louisiana party place. It’s nicer than it looks from the outside, too. Don’t be fooled by its weather-worn facade. You’d look like that if you had to stand there all your life!

But if Asian fusion or Spanish picky plates aren’t your thing, and you just want to appreciate the sweet firm flesh of freshly caught seafood, treated with love and respect - try The Mermaid. By and large cheaper than the beach cafes, and nowhere near as chi-chi as one or two of them, their ‘pot of seafood’ (£23) is a culinary cannonball into the sea for your senses, confidently showcasing mussels, tiger prawns, scallops, squid and hake in a whirlpool of white wine sauce. They used to do tapas and a beer from a serving hatch for lunch, too. Can you bring that back, please, guys.

Top tip: do not miss out on the Mixed Meat sharing kebab from West Greek, tucked away on Porthmeor. For £34 it served all four of us, with the super friendly staff only too happy to offer us four plates as a family, so we could tuck in fast after a tiring day at Kynance Cove, plunging off rocks into the deep blue waters of its secret mermaid pool. A National Trust day out (free to members) that you have to put on your bucket list.

Top tip 2: Beer & Bird: the burgers at Beer & Bird are to DIE for and cocktails are generous! Try the Korean wings.

Driving and parking in St Ives

A word of warning, though, to anyone driving into St Ives. It hates cars, especially big ones. If you’re of a nervous disposition behind the wheel, you will hate the centre of St Ives as much as it hates cars. Be prepared for tight alleys, high kerbs and annoyed pedestrians. The best thing you can do is to park your car up at St Ives Rugby Club for the whole week, get the bus down into town - or enjoy the walk down the hill, it’s coming back up that gets the cheeks puffing! - and think of yourself as being at somewhere like Center Parcs, where they put your car in quarantine for the duration of your stay, and you feel all the better for it come the end.

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So, as you can tell. We’re in love with St Ives. You feel like you’re part of something special. It has an energy, a pulse. If Newquay has become Cornwall’s Lidl, St Ives is its Waitrose and whilst we can’t shop at the latter every day of the week, it sure is nice as a treat. Just make sure you put in an extra shift or two before you go ;o)