The Call of Cornwall

By Tony Mallion

It was love at first sight. Late one summer's evening, a beautiful branch line gave me my first view of St. Ives harbour. The lights twinkled, the beach below the station stretched out and the sea was an almost iridescent blue. That was more than half a century ago when I was a teenager on a school trip to the Cornish resort, but I was hooked and have returned regularly.

St. Ives has that sort of effect. It may have gently evolved with the years but still retains the same charm and narrow cobbled streets. I enjoyed that early experience of sun and surfing (somehow you never remember the rainy days). Later, the town became something of a hippy colony in the70s when a strange smelling fug enveloped the pier each evening as flares were worn and guitars strummed. St. Ives survived.

St. Ives harbour in Cornwall.

The amazing quality of the light mixed with the rugged granite surroundings attracted then, as now, many artists, including Dame Barbara Hepworth whose studio and home became an atmospheric museum after she died there in 1975. Bernard Leach also set up his famous and influential pottery in 1920. It is this unique combining of art and culture with buckets and spades, surfboards and seagulls, which helps make the town so special.

The quality of light and rugged surroundings in Cornwall have attracted artists for centuries.

The combination of art and culture with the English coastal setting make the town particularly unique.

Where else could you, as I did one afternoon during a recent September visit, be on the beach and swimming one minute then nip off to the St Ives School of Art nearby for a talk about the author Virginia Woolf before returning to the sand and sun an hour later?

The Porthmeor surfing beach was once overlooked by the long disused ugly town gas works, with its airship shaped gas holder. There were those who, despite the glories of the sea, wanted the narrow site to become a swimming pool. Campaigners fought for an art gallery; a battle which was triumphantly won and rewarded with the breathtaking Tate St Ives where the views from the windows complement, if not overtake, the exhibitions. This transformed the town and helped to make it, even more, an all year round destination, so much so that after two decades and a lengthy closure which involved excavating into the cliffs, the Tate re-emerged last year, doubled in size.

Over the years St Ives has also developed as a real foodie destination, too. True, there was always those local delicacies – the famed Cornish pasties and the inevitable cream teas (yes, it is Cornwall so the jam goes on first) which somehow taste even more special when you know that all the thick clotted cream is made by Rodda’s just down the road in Redruth.

St. Ives has developed as a foodie destination over the years.

So many restaurants and cafes directly overlook the beaches and sea including the award winning Porthminster cafe and my own favourite at the smaller Porthgwidden Beach with its view of the Godrevy lighthouse. Just as light attracted artists, the eateries have drawn top chefs. Something which has really grown in size and confidence is the annual Food and Drink Festival which uses part of Porthminster beach for a whole weekend of stalls, samples and displays by both local and celebrity chefs. Music features in the evenings and the event draws in thousands.

The annual Food and Drink Festival on Porthminster beach has grown in size and offerings.

Throughout St Ives there is such a rich variety of places to eat, with even the humble fish and chips at the Harbour Fish and Chips served with a bit of style. Everyone will have their favourites but two of ours have never failed to please. The Tex Mex is long established, serving for me last time a tasty burrito followed by a delicious key lime pie. By contrast, the Caffe Pasta on the side of the harbour doesn’t disappoint as proven by ham hock terrine and apple and tomato chutney followed by smoked haddock tagliatelli with spinach and dill.

The Queen’s Hotel has been in the town forever, but, encouraged by a recommendation from the food festival we tried it out last year. What a discovery! We did a taster of a light lunch with the most incredibly succulent roast beef sandwiches which eagerly sent us back later for an evening meal with perfectly cooked and served steak followed by an apple crumble with ice cream which, although simple, was so attractively presented. Little wonder the place has earned two AA Rosettes.

You’d hardly want to leave the town but we did become guinea pigs when the local coach operators Oates tried out both a new excursion and Mercedes midibus to explore some of the locations used to film Poldark, including visiting the tiny fishing cove of Porthgwarra near Land’s End. A tiny narrow lane with rock walls on either side tested our driver’s skill to the limit; how the BBC film crews, with their equipment, manage is a total mystery. Even that outing included a stop at a cafe at St Just where they went just a little bit further to make even a light lunch a touch more memorable.

Overlooking St. Michael's Mount.

And finally a big thumbs up for the Godolphin Arms in Marazion, overlooking the spectacular St Michael’s Mount. This has been totally rebuilt in the last three years with the restaurant now a predominantly glass structure where good food tastes even better with the view of this jewel in the National Trust’s crown.

www.feastnorfolkmagazine.co.uk