48 hours in St Ives

Artists are attracted by the light, tourists flock here because of the sandy beaches, peaceful atmosphere and beautiful countryside. This Cornish seaside town is pretty as a picture, says Harriet O'Brien

WHY GO NOW?
Although sea temperatures are still a little too refreshing for any but the hardiest of bathers, early summer is one of the best times to visit this town of fisherfolk, artists, surfers – and tourists. You'll beat the school-holiday rush so it will still be possible to get a table at one of the excellent restaurants; you won't be overwhelmed by crowds in the numerous galleries and museums; and you'll still be able to find a bed for the night. Added to which, this is one of the prettiest seasons in Cornwall, when the cliffs are festooned with wild flowers.

BEAM DOWN
Taking a car to St Ives is possible but awkward: the streets are narrow, with many inaccessible to vehicles, and parking is difficult. Rail travel is straightforward but slow; from Birmingham, Bristol, London Paddington and other points you can travel to St Erth, from where there are connections to St Ives. Call National Rail Enquiries (08457 48 49 50) for fares and times. Cornwall International Airport, better known as Newquay, is about 30 miles east of St Ives. You can fly from Gatwick on British Airways (0845 77 333 77, www.ba.com) or from Stansted on Ryanair (08701 569 569, www.ryanair.com). The problem about the airport's location is that unless you hire a car or take a taxi for about £50 (try DJ's cars in St Ives 01736 796633), getting from Newquay to St Ives is tricky – public transport connections are sporadic.

CHECK IN
Although St Ives is awash with B&Bs, there is a lack of really good accommodation. In leafy seclusion overlooking the town, The Garrack Hotel, Burthallan Lane (01736 796199, www.garrack.com) offers a leisure centre with swimming pool, fine food, good views. Double rooms from £106 B&B until 30 June. The views are perhaps even better at The Pedn-Olva, Porthminster Beach (01736 796 222, www.walterhickshotels.co.uk) whose location between the harbour and Porthminster Beach compensates for slightly sloppy service. B&B per person (based on two sharing) from £58 until September. The best of the B&Bs must be the Allamanda, 83 Back Road East (01736 793548, www.allamanda.co.uk) which was recently awarded a five-diamond rating from the English Tourist Board. This immaculate house has two double rooms from £70 per room with breakfast. Renting a cottage is also possible: Powells on St Andrew's Street (01736 794024, www.powells.co.uk) has three-night deals in the winter, and occasionally in the summer.

GET YOUR BEARINGS
Getting lost in the maze of meandering alleys is a pleasure, and an inevitability given the poor signposting here. However, it doesn't take long to re-orientate yourself. The tiny town spreads itself over a hilly peninsula ringed by sandy beaches: Porthminster Beach and the harbour to the east; Porth Gwidden Beach to the north-east; and the long stretch of Porthmeor Beach to the north. The Tourist Information Centre, offering helpful advice and free but inadequate maps, is in the old Guildhall off St Andrews Street (01736 796297).

TAKE A RIDE
Dollys Deck, a cappuccino bar on the Harbour by the Lifeboat Inn, organises boating trips. A two-hour fishing excursion costs £10 per person. Call 01736 796080 to check departure times (which depend on weather and tide) and space. Or try riding the waves in a different way and join the surfers on Porthmeor Beach: surfboards and wet suits are available for hire at £5 each per day from Wind an Sea and Natural Balance on Fore Street.

LUNCH ON THE RUN
Buy a Cornish pasty for a picnic at Porthgwidden Beach, one of the town's quieter spots. Of the many pasty outlets, Yellow Canary on Fore Street has a fine range of fillings from lamb and mint to veggie and chicken tikka (from £1.70). You can also buy a take-away clotted cream "tea" (£1.95 for two scones, jam and cream – the tea itself is extra).

ICING ON THE CAKE
The St Ives Tate, Porthmeor Beach (01736 796226), is justifiably regarded as the feather in St Ives's cap. It's not just that the gallery showcases many of the works of art inspired by the area, or that the building itself holds countless delights. Since the St Ives Tate opened in 1993, it has imbued the town with new energy and dignity. Currently on show are works by the "concrete" artist Ian Hamilton Finlay.

WRITE A POSTCARD
Buy a card of one of Alfred Wallis's St Ives scenes from the Tate and sit outside the gallery on Porthmeor Beach. Here you can write home, to the sound of seagulls and crashing waves, glancing up to check on the antics of the surfers skidding across the sea.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON
St Ives Museum, Wheal Dream (01736 796005, open Monday to Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-4pm), is a private enterprise lovingly put together since 1924 – and an antidote to the town's host of modern-art galleries. It's an absorbing place, recording the life and times of the locality through cartwheels, rabbit traps, Bibles, wooden rocker washing tubs, model boats, early photographs of shipwrecks, and much, much more.

WINDOW SHOPPING
Gazing at art galleries is an occupational hazard in St Ives and it can be difficult to come away empty-handed. There are art shops on virtually every street, but for a good concentration wander down St Andrews Street. Elsewhere, the Wills Lane Gallery, run by Henry Gilbert – who also sits on the advisory committee of the St Ives Tate – has a striking collection. The New Craftsman on Fore Street has an eclectic range from serious art (with serious prices) by such local luminaries as the late Patrick Heron and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham to drift-wood artefacts.

AN APERITIF
Despite its popularity with both locals and visitors, the Sloop Inn on the harbour retains much charm and character. It has been a pub since 1312, although the creaking beams and slate floors are probably more "modern" refurbishments. The wood-panelled walls are hung with charcoals by Hyman Segal and with St Ives School paintings.

TAKE A HIKE
The coastal path to the little village of Zennor some six miles away starts to the west of Porthmeor Beach. As you leave St Ives, the landscape opens into wild ruggedness, with spectacular boulders like gigantic sculptures. Zennor itself has a very serviceable pub, a café and a folk museum (Sun-Fri 10.30am-5.30pm, adults £2.50). If you're feeling very energetic, there's a field walk back to St Ives.

BRACING BRUNCH
The Alba restaurant and its deli-cum-brasserie, the Harbour Kitchen, both on the harbour front (01736 798937), opened at Easter. Very decent breakfasts are served in the Harbour Kitchen from 9am-11.30am – the likes of poached free-range egg with spinach and smoked ham on sour-dough (£3.95); and spicy sausage, compote of tomatoes and basil, crispy polenta and fried egg (£4.95).

A WALK IN THE PARK
Barbara Hepworth's small, beautifully kept garden is a must-see. The house and grounds (Barnoon Hill, 01736 796226) of the sculptor, who made St Ives her home from 1939 until her death in 1975, is run by St Ives Tate. It's open daily 10am-5.30pm (adults £3.95, concs £2, over 60s and children free; combined with the Tate £6.95/£3.50). There are just a couple of rooms to wander through but it is the garden that is the real glory. This is a touchy-feely sculpture park (Hepworth thought the tangibility of her art was one of its main appeals) where visitors run their hands over the bronze and limestone creations that sit among palms and bamboos.

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH
In the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee, it seems fitting to visit a chapel that was restored to commemorate the coronation of her grandfather. At the summit of St Ives Head (also, perplexingly, known as the Island, although it isn't one) is the sailors' chapel of St Nicholas, which, according to its plaque, has stood on that site "since time immemorial". It was used as a lookout for smugglers and, later, as a storehouse by the War Office.

DINNER WITH THE LOCALS
St Ives is becoming a gourmet haven and has seen an influx of fine-food restaurants with equally fine prices. Locals, though, tend to eat out at Caffe Pasta on the harbour (01736 796447, booking advisable) – which is not as prosaic as it sounds. This is no ordinary pasta and pizza joint: reasonably priced specials include baked fillet of cod with pine nut and sundried-tomato crust, and seafood risotto with chargrilled sea bass and tiger prawns.