St Ives – Sun, Sea and Gluten Free Scones

We had a whole day to fill on the Sunday before we had to board our train back to London in the evening.  What shall we do?  Take a bus to St Ives!  It’s only 30 minutes by bus from Penzance on the south coast to St Ives on the north coast and you are delivered to these scenes as soon you step off the bus….

I guess we were very lucky with the weather (we couldn’t have really asked for better to be honest!) and it definitely meant we were seeing St Ives in all its glory!  After taking about a hundred photos of the view, we made our way through the winding streets down to the harbour.  It was very busy, mainly because it was a Sunday and of course because of the weather, but it was bearable. I dread to think what it’s like during the school holidays – according to one local we met, its bedlam!

We were accosted by touts trying to sell us their boat trips out to Seal island, which we did contemplate for a split second.  But we knew that we wouldn’t have time to fit that in, along with eating pasties and cream teas in the afternoon….yes, we were going for the full on Cornish experience in one day!  We found a cute little tea room which advertised gluten free Cornish pasties, so we (i!) had to give them a go. We bought one, found a bench overlooking the harbour and split it between us, whilst keeping one eye on the seagulls!  They are notorious for swiping food and do it by stealth – they sneak up on you from behind!!  Not on my watch – I scoffed that pasty almost in one go!!!

The afternoon was spent walking around the town and up to the St Nicholas Chapel which is perched on top of the island. It’s amazing how quickly time goes when you are hiking around!  Especially when the views are so gorgeous that you can’t stop staring at them and taking photos!

You can see for miles and I kept my eyes peeled for dolphins (like I always do whenever we are by the sea!), but alas none were to be seen that day! Still, the disappointment was short-lived as there was so much else to take your breath away.  Having spent quite a long time pottering around and taking more photos, it was scone o’clock, so we made our way back to the harbour, via some of the cutest little winding streets known to man.

The tearoom we opted for was called The Searoom and it was like it was meant to be, there was one little table waiting for us and we gladly sat down inside out of the sun (yes, I know! I can’t believe I am saying that about England either!).  I ordered the gluten free cream tea and it was delicious….photo evidence below…

It seemed to be very difficult to find anywhere serving gluten free scones, which I was quite surprised at, so it was great that we saved the best until last and I was able to finally indulge…. And did I!  There was not a scrap of scone or cream left!

After we’d filled ourselves up it was time to leave and head back to Penzance on the bus.  I must just mention that I am totally in awe of the driving skills of the bus drivers in that neck of the woods!  It’s no mean feat to navigate a double decker bus down single track country lanes with sheep and cows as potential hazards!  It may be a bit slow going because of this but I thought that the buses were extremely well organised, reliable and good value. We didn’t have a car and relied on them for getting around and it was totally fine.

So, our day trip ended with this view:

It had been a lovely day spent in warm sunshine (shock horror!) and I can safely say that I am a little bit in love with St Ives, it is beautiful and definitely worth a visit.