St Ives

The studio and garden of Dame Barbara Hepworth, one of the twentieth century's greatest sculptors, is preserved almost exactly as it was at her death in 1975. Her monumental bronze and stone forms stand among mature subtropical planting in the garden, while her tools and unfinished works remain in the studio. An intensely moving encounter with a creative life.

Harbour Beach St Ives is a memorable stretch of Cornwall coast near St Ives, known for its sand, Atlantic light and easy access to the sea. Depending on the tide and weather, it can feel either wild and dramatic or calm enough for a slower beach day, with coastal paths and cliff views adding to the appeal.

Founded by Bernard Leach in 1920, this is arguably the most influential pottery studio in the English-speaking world. Leach's fusion of Japanese and English ceramic traditions shaped studio pottery across the globe. Today the working studio and museum show both historic and contemporary pots, and the original wood-fired kiln still stands in the yard — an object of near-sacred significance to potters worldwide.

Porthgwidden Beach is a memorable stretch of Cornwall coast near St Ives, known for its sand, Atlantic light and easy access to the sea. Depending on the tide and weather, it can feel either wild and dramatic or calm enough for a slower beach day, with coastal paths and cliff views adding to the appeal.

The big Atlantic-facing beach on the north side of St Ives, Porthmeor is where artists came to paint the light and surfers come to ride the waves. The beach stretches beneath the town's rooftops, and the sight of Tate St Ives rising from the sand's edge is one of the more unlikely art-meets-beach juxtapositions in Britain. The surf school is excellent for beginners.

Porthminster Beach is a memorable stretch of Cornwall coast near St Ives, known for its sand, Atlantic light and easy access to the sea. Depending on the tide and weather, it can feel either wild and dramatic or calm enough for a slower beach day, with coastal paths and cliff views adding to the appeal.

St Ives Guildhall is a municipal structure in Street An Pol, St Ives, Cornwall, England. As a programmatic destination page, it works well as a hub for nearby beaches, walks, heritage sites, food spots and local itinerary links across CornwallMagazine.

The small medieval chapel on the Island headland above St Ives has served as a navigation mark, a house of correction, and a fishermen's shrine over the centuries. Now restored, it commands panoramic views over both Porthmeor and the harbour beaches. The Island itself — actually a peninsula — is a favourite evening walk for residents and visitors alike.

Perched above Porthmeor Beach, Tate St Ives occupies one of the great gallery buildings in Britain — its curving white forms echoing the gasworks that once stood on the same site. The permanent collection draws from the St Ives School: Hepworth, Nicholson, Lanyon and Wallis sit alongside international modernists in rooms flooded with that extraordinary Cornish light.

The Island St Ives is a worthwhile natural stop near St Ives, valued for open views, sea air and the kind of landscape that gives Cornwall much of its identity. It rewards slow exploration, whether that means a clifftop walk, a pause at a viewpoint or simply taking in the changing weather and light.