Penzance Travel Guide - St Ives, Cornwall

The town has been famous for over a century as an artists paradise - there is something special about the quality of the light in St Ives which appeals to landscape (or seascape) artists and which is felt to be unique to West Cornwall. As a result of the artistic heritage of St Ives, the new St Ives Tate Gallery - a branch of the London Tate Gallery - was built and opened in 1993. This major asset to the town has proved very popular both with art connoisseurs and with casual visitors - the building itself is a spectacular sight placed immediately above the western beach and the Atlantic Ocean, while the variety of exhibitions held - some traditional including the "Newlyn School" work and some modern - provides a continuously varying source of interest. The sculptor Barbara Hepworth lived and created much of her best work in St Ives in a nearby small house which is now a gallery and a memorial to her work.

Stretching eastward from the town, beaches continue into Carbis Bay and beyond to Lelant where the beach is backed by sand dunes rising towards the West Cornwall Golf Course - one of the major courses in the area.

Access to St Ives is available by road or by rail. While there are frequent bus services from Penzance into the town, motorists are advised to use the Car Parks on the outskirts of the town or to use the attractive "Park and Ride" service from Lelant (two miles along the bay) in conjunction with the train service giving some spectacular views on the approach to St Ives. Train services also run several times per day directly from Penzance and frequently via a change of train at the junction of St Erth.